Exploring patterns of knowledge transfer from university to industry: Do sectors matter?

Isabel Maria Bodas Freitas
Technical University of Eindhiven

Rudi Bekkers
Technical University of Eindhoven

     Full text: PDF
     Last modified: May 16, 2007

Abstract
This paper explores the reasons underlying the importance of different channels of knowledge transfer from universities to industry. For this purpose, responses from two questionnaires are analysed, one addressing Dutch industrial researchers and the other Dutch university researchers. A reassuring result is that the perceived importance between the 23 distinct transfer channels we distinguished hardly differs between industry and university. Trying to understand the choice for and importance of technology transfer channels in particular contexts, we found that the observed sectoral diversity of knowledge transfer reflects mainly differences related to the disciplinary origin and the characteristics of the underlying knowledge.