Magnus Gulbrandsen

The Third Mission and the Entrepreneurial University Model

Although the role of universities in the knowledge society is increasingly significant, there remains a severe lack of systematic quantitative evidence at the micro-level, with virtually all policy discussion based on country level statistics or case studies. This book redresses the balance by examining original data from universities in six European countries – Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

A baseline for the impact of academic patenting legislation in Norway

As the commercialization of academic research has risen as a target area in many countries, the need for better empirical data collection to evaluate policy changes on this front has increasingly been recognized. This need is exemplified in the Norwegian case where legislative changes went into effect in 2003 expressly to encourage greater commercialization through patenting research results. This policy ambition faces the problem that no record of the patenting activity of academic researchers is available before 2003 when the country’s “professor’s privilege” was phased out. This article addresses the fundamental difficulty of how to empirically test the effect of such policy aims. It develops a methodology which can be used to reliably baseline changes in the extent and focus of academic patents. The purpose is to describe the empirical approach and results, while also providing insight into the changes in Norwegian policy on this front and their context.

In Search of "Mode 2": The Nature of Knowledge Production in Norway.

This article investigates the contention that we are seeing the emergence of new forms of knowledge production, transforming the expectations and assessment of fundamental research. We examine three dimensions in the assessment of research. Our studies show little evidence of any significant change in practice in the three sectors in which research is undertaken in Norway.

Convergence Between Europe and America: The Transition from Industrial to Innovation Policy

Traditionally, the U.S. and Western Europe have chosen different policies to foster commercial innovation. Whereas (federal) government intervention in the U.S. has required strict justifications and has been mainly indirect, most governments on the other side of the Atlantic have played an explicit and more active role in the economy. However, recent developments indicate a convergence between Europe and America, both in type of policy measures and their legitimation. Within a framework of risk profiles and a typology of justifications, we examine several U.S. and European programs (Etzkowitz, 1997). We find that the main reason for convergence in policy agendas and measures seems to be an incorporation of perceived missing links in the innovation systems in response to reciprocal competitive pressures. Hence, the federal government is aiming to play a more direct role in the U.S., while the university sector and technology transfer becomes increasingly integrated in European innovation policies.

Institutionalization of university-industry interaction: an empirical study of the impact of formal structures on collaboration patterns

This article addresses the increasing formalization of cross-sector collaboration between universities and industry seen in the development of public funding schemes such as collaborative research centers (CRCs). This policy trend is analyzed in the article and investigated empirically, treating the organizational arrangements supporting cross-sector collaboration as a dependent variable, where the purpose is to investigate institutionalization processes through a number of case studies of university-industry collaboration. The investigation indicates that less formal, project-based collaborations, contrary to policy assumptions, often display a higher degree of institutionalization than CRCs, and that CRCs represent highly formal but weakly institutionalized frameworks of collaboration. The main reason is that centers involve several industrial partners and as a consequence CRCs represent several different modalities of collaboration at the same time. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

The relationship between academic patenting and scientific publishing in Norway

This paper adds to the growing empirical evidence on the relationship between patenting and publishing among university employees. Data from all Norwegian universities and a broad set of disciplines is used, consisting of confirmed patent inventors and group of peers without patents matched to the inventors by controlling for gender, age, affiliation and position. In general, the findings support earlier investigations concluding that there is a positive relationship between patenting and publishing. There are, however, important differences among fields, universities and possibly types of academic entrepreneurs, underscoring the need to look at nuanced and contextual factors when investigating the effects of patenting.

Are the concepts basic research, applied research and experimental development still useful? An empirical investigation among Norwegian academics

Categorisations of research have existed for a long time and have in particular been influential since the first international R&D statistics manual was developed. However, the definitions and categorisations have come under increasing pressure. Scientists and policy-makers alike have claimed that the distinction between basic research, applied research and experimental development is increasingly irrelevant and based on misconceptions about modern knowledge production. Despite the debate there is little empirical analysis of these issues. This article fills a major gap in the literature by addressing research classifications from an empirical point of view, using two surveys among academic staff in Norwegian universities. Even though a majority of academic staff members are able to use the research categories when describing own activities, most carry out a seemingly complex mix of different R&D. This has important implications for policy and for statistical and evaluative analysis of research work. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Tensions in the research council-research community relationship

Research councils have often met difficult balancing acts, for instance between basic and applied research, disciplinary and cross-disciplinary work, and trade-off decisions about review and monitoring systems. Contemporary councils such as the Research Council of Norway (RCN) often have multiple missions that introduce new tensions when innovation goals, new forms of monitoring and user control enter the scene. This article views tensions in the research council-research community relationship from a principal-agent perspective using data from an empirical investigation of RCN. The principal-agent dilemmas ‘adverse selection’ and ‘moral hazard’ are tied to the discussion of tensions, including an exploration of how these dilemmas can be ‘balanced’ or ‘stabilised’. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

The use and development of indicators for the commercialisation of university research in a national support programme

Governments in most countries have set up specialised programmes to support the commercialisation of academic research. A key challenge is to develop indicators that are able to measure operation and impact. This study shows how different indicators are used to satisfy different stakeholders of a Norwegian support programme. Policy intervention is supposed to lead to additionality related to input, behaviour and output. While the support programme uses input and behavioural measures as strategic tools for its operation, policy makers are mostly preoccupied with output measures. This study illustrates how indicators develop over time, partly co-evolving with the development of the programme and the national commercialisation infrastructure. Indicators serve as incentives for the agents involved, but they may also influence the strategies of the programme that established them. The external signalling effect of indicators remains central, while its use in daily operations becomes less important with time and experience.

Government Support Programmes to Promote Academic Entrepreneurship: A Principal–Agent Perspective

The commercialization of research has become a key task of universities and public research institutions. This development is partly stimulated by an increasing number of government support programmes (GSPs) that are designed to stimulate academic entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, the role that is played by this new type of actor in the innovation system is not very well understood. We use a principal–agent theory to guide our analysis of a Norwegian GSP. The programme contributes to reducing the agency problems of adverse selections and moral hazards in the relationships between the government and the actors that are involved in the commercialization of research. Key tasks include collecting and sharing information, engaging in long-term relationships with principals and agents, developing strategies and specific contractual relationships, taking higher risks for risk-averse agents and using multiple indicators. The programme also plays an institutional role by reducing goal conflicts. This approach requires a long-term effort that is generally less visible for outside stakeholders, and it is under constant pressure from short-term expectations.