Factors Affecting Technology Transfer of Universities in the LINC (Leaders in Industry-University Cooperation) Program of Korea

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to propose the measures necessary to promote industry-academic cooperation by investigating and analyzing factors affecting its performance Recently, the Korean government increased the budget available for industry-academic cooperation to help nurture industrial talent and promote industry-academic cooperation. In our study, the results of industry-academic cooperation for 48 universities that carried out the 5-year LINC development project from 2012 to 2016 were analyzed via panel analysis to identify any factors affecting the performance. Our analysis revealed that the organizational capabilities of the university—including the number of dedicated professors, the number of projects assigned, and the financial support—had a significant effect on technical commercialization. In addition, we found that the moderating effect of allied companies on the relationship between the organizational capabilities of universities and their technical commercialization was significant. However, the results of our analysis differed depending on university location. Universities in and around the Capital region benefited from their organizational capabilities and cooperation with allied companies. Based on the results of the analysis, we conclude that it is necessary to consider a variety of factors, including efficient support of the industry-academic cooperation budget and practical application of industry-academic cooperation systems.