Mats Benner

Institutionalizing the triple helix: research funding and norms in the academic system

Abstract What are the institutional mechanisms that enable or hinder the development of new forms of knowledge production? This issue has been slightly neglected in the discussion of the “triple helix”. To redress this shortcoming, the authors suggest an institutionalist complement to the triple helix model. The article analyzes the institutional regulation of academic research, with a special emphasis on how norms in the academic system are constituted via research funding. It is argued that funding is a key mechanism of change in the norm system since its reward structure influences the performance and evaluation of research. The empirical analysis is based on the public financing of technical research in Sweden, with comparisons made with other countries. The structure of research funding has been reformed in all the countries studied. In addition to continuing recognition for scientific merit, the reforms have had the effect of emphasizing the commercial potential and the societal relevance of the research supported. The two dominant models of research funding, an intra-academic model and a top–down interventionist model, seem to be replaced partly with a catalytic one. However, there are counteracting tendencies. Some agencies still reproduce a model of reputational control and a collegial orientation among researchers. It is concluded, therefore, that the forces of change and continuity are engaged in a process of negotiation about the normative regulation of academic research.

Pathways to the entrepreneurial university: towards a global convergence

This paper analyzes the transition to the entrepreneurial university as part of a broader shift to a knowledge-based economy, arising from a complex interplay between exogenous (top-down) and endogenous factors (bottom-up) of a more or less similar nature, combined in different ways in different countries. Drawing on the experience of four countries (US, Sweden, Japan and Brazil) with different institutional trajectories and degrees of academic entrepreneurial transformation, under varying degrees of state control and levels of university initiative, we argue that a global convergence is currently taking shape toward entrepreneurial universities playing a central role in a knowledgebased economy that moves beyond etatism and pure market relations to an intermediate position within a triple helix regime. The role of public venture capital in financing the transition to the entrepreneurial university and its possible interventions in a counter-cyclical business model, which is also active in periods of economic downturn, are also discussed.

The Bio-economy and the Competition State: Transcending the Dichotomy between Coordinated and Liberal Market Economies

This article examines the role of the state in the emerging bio-economy. The starting point is that state interventions, including supportive regulatory arrangements and the shaping of public attitudes, constitute core assets in the evolution of bio-industrial complexes. Public policy in the bio-economy, across advanced industrial countries, is well captured by the “competition state” concept. This type of state takes different forms, analogously with the historical variants of the Keynesian welfare state. The article compares patterns of governance of the biotechnology sector in Finland and Sweden, the USA and the UK, and Australia. It is concluded that the bio-industry sector does not fit with the “models of capitalism” paradigm which postulates coherence within, and systemic divergences between, national models of economic governance. The bio-economy displays trends toward convergence, in particular mounting public investments in health care and in research and development. On the other hand, countries differ in their approach to market regulation, industrial support, and ethical restrictions. These differences do not follow the dichotomy between “liberal” and “coordinated” models of capitalism.

Inertia and change in Scandinavian public-sector research systems: the case of biotechnology

This article reviews and analyses recent reforms of research funding in Denmark, Norway and Sweden where research councils traditionally have been the dominant funding mechanism. It analyses how the research council system is affected by changes in the political, economic and cognitive environments of public-sector research (PSR) and how the councils try to adapt to the changing conditions. Inspired by institutional theory the article starts with a discussion of path-dependency in PSR systems. A survey of the development of research councils in the Scandinavian countries traces the changing organisation and orientation of research councils in relation to political, economic and technological processes, and in particular how they have adapted to the emergence of a new research area, biotechnology, where the boundaries between science and technology, academic research and commercial application, are blurred. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Innovation Policy in Hard Times: Lessons from the Nordic Countries

The current economic crisis has so far mostly triggered short-term responses like corporate bailouts and rescue packages for ailing industries. This indicates that the crisis has been constructed as an event, a “great recession”, primarily caused by governance failures in the financial sector. However, it may also be interpreted as a more fundamental crisis of the economic growth model as such, calling for a broad-ranged overhaul of policies for economic growth and employment, entailing a more pivotal role for innovation policy. This paper analyses the preconditions for such radical policy changes. The economic crisis of the Finnish and Swedish economies in the early 1990s was countered by a three-layered transformation of public policies, comprising macroeconomic stringency, renovations of social and employment policies, and massive investments in public innovation support. The institutional preconditions for such layered policy responses are discussed and some implications for contemporary crisis policy are presented.

Knowledge triangle configurations at three Swedish Universities

The concept of a knowledge triangle, i.e., the principle of strengthening the linkages between research, education and innovation, has emerged as a result of policymakers’ expectations that universities to assume broader social responsibility. Yet, little is known about how these tasks and their interactions are orchestrated at universities. We explore how they are manifested in the organisation and strategy of three different Swedish universities, and how these manifestations are shaped by the policy landscape. The article highlights that although the knowledge triangle remains a priority, explicit national policies are lacking, with the responsibility of integration falling upon universities themselves. We observe great diversity in how the principles of knowledge production are implemented at the universities, e.g., through individuals’ interpretations and attitudes, and through management strategies and incentive schemes. The three tasks have largely been handled separately, with weak coordination and generally limited ambition demonstrated by university management teams to forge new combinations of remits. At the individual and group levels, we observe weak task articulation, although some role models serve as inspiration. Tensions emerge as the responsibilities of operationalising the knowledge triangle falls on individuals who sometimes lack the appropriate mandate and resources. These findings raise questions for further research and implications for policy and university management.

Higher Education in the Knowledge Society: Miracle or Mirage?

This paper provides an assessment of the notion of a knowledge society, with growing expectations of the use and utility of education and research in society and a concomitant rise in the impact and value of academic leadership. It is argued that there are inflated expectations of the social value of education and research and that the realities of education and research seldom live up to policy hyperboles. The rise of academic management, and its tendency to reduce academic activities to external adaptation and mechanic accounts of activity, is criticized. The paper ends with some suggestions to reinvigorate academic values.

Why Are Some Nations More Successful Than Others in Research Impact? A Comparison Between Denmark and Sweden

Bibliometric impact analyses show that Swedish research has less international visibility than Danish research. When taking a global view on all subject fields and selecting publications cited higher than the 90th percentile, i.e., the Top 10 %—publications, the Swedish Research Council shows that although Sweden ranks 15 % above world average, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland rank 35–40 % above. To explain these different performances, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences asked us to compare the national research systems on three levels: priority setting at national level, governance of universities and direction and funding of research. There are of course many similarities between the Danish and Swedish research systems but there are still subtle differences that have developed over time, which may explain the different international visibility. First of all, it does not depend on different levels of public spending on research and development. However, the core funding of universities relative external funding is higher in Denmark than in Sweden. The academic leadership of Danish universities in terms of board, vice-chancellor, faculty dean and department chair is also more coherent and focused on priority setting, recruitment, organization and deployment of resources to establish research environments that operate at the forefront of international research. On all these points we see a weaker leadership in Sweden. Furthermore, over the last 20 years, public funding of research in Sweden has become more and more unpredictable and program oriented with many new actors, while the Danish funding system, although it also has developed over time, shows more consistency with strong actors to fund individuals with novel ideas. The research policy in Sweden has also developed multiple, sometimes even conflicting goals, which have undermined conditions for high-impact research, while in Denmark a policy to support excellence in research has been more coherent.

A global knowledge economy? Biopolitical strategies in India and the European Union

This article critiques the notion of a cross-national convergence of institutional and policy responses to science-based technologies. The continued significance of institutional legacies is demonstrated through a comparative analysis of strategies for the biopharma industry in two radically different settings: India and the European Union (EU). Tensions are evident in both the EU ‘high’ route and the mixed strategy pursued in India. State promotion of biopharma is seen in India as a pathway to economic development, framed by a vision of India as a global power. Here, the ‘low’ route of cost advantages is combined with a ‘global’ rhetoric of innovation, modeled on US experience, and uneven forays into advanced R&D. The pursuit of product innovation was reinforced by India’s adoption of TRIPS-mandated intellectual property rights. In the EU, the aim is an integrated policy and regulatory approach to sustain and legitimize European integration, with the ultimate intent of overtaking the USA.

The Corporatization of the Business School: Minerva Meets the Market

All rights reserved. With business schools becoming increasingly market-driven, questionable trends have emerged, such as the conflation of academic and corporate management, and the notion that academics and students are market players, who respond rationally to market signals. Using individual studies from leading scholars in a variety of disciplines and countries, this book identifies the global pressures behind these trends. It focuses on the debates surrounded the commercialization of business schools, and the rise of different methods of measuring their success. In their unique approach, the authors and editors discuss the impact of the confrontation between the timeless values embodied by Minerva, the Roman goddess of Wisdom, and the hard realities of competition and corporatization in modern society. This book will be compelling reading for students and academics in critical management studies, organizational studies, public management and higher education, as well as for stakeholders in academia and educational policy.Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the question – why do professionals surrender their autonomy? This paper looks at the case of academics, in particular business school academics. It traces how this group of professionals have progressively surrendered their autonomy and complied with the demands of managerialism. Design/methodology/approach – This largely theoretical paper looks to develop an understanding of (over)compliance with the bureaucratization of research using the four faces of power – coercive, agenda setting, ideological and discursive. Findings – The discussion of this paper argues that the surrendering of autonomy has been reinforced through coercive forms of power like rewards and punishment and bureaucratization; manipulation and mainstreaming through pushing a particular version of research to the top of the agenda; domination through shaping norms and values; and subjectification through creating new identities. Originality/value – The paper explores how academics deal with tensions and paradoxes such as compliance and resistance, as well as love of work and loathing of it. To deal with these paradoxes, academics often treat their work as a game and see themselves as players. While this process enables academics to reconcile themselves with their loss of autonomy, it has troubling collective outcomes: the production of increasing uninteresting and irrelevant research.This chapter focuses on the relatively neglected domain of branding and the academic labour process, in particular in business schools. It is increasingly accepted that brands are not only marketing tools, they also potentially instruct and direct organizational members. In other words, branding is a means by which managers or leaders can exert control in the labour process through targeting employee subjectivities. Employer branding entails the alignment of employees, typically in service occupations, with how they profile themselves outwards to customers. Successful image management and branding tends to interact with identity. Karreman and Rylander argues that branding activities can more fruitfully be seen as the management of meaning rather than as benign marketing tools. Professional labour in academia is both simultaneously consuming the brand and producing it. Accordingly, much of the performance of academic labour can be understood as branding work, that is, doing things to market the business school or university brand to an external audience.This chapter explores critically the educational situation of today and the more destructive aspects of competition, where substance gives way to various moves faking quality. It highlights three themes in particular: educational fundamentalism, positional games and manipulation of the image. Higher education is increasingly a matter of various people – primarily students but also university employees – engaged in positional games. Higher education and the associated payoff are often regarded as indicating an increase in the human capital or ability of the person concerned. Educational attainment has changed at a faster rate than the job structure, as a result of increasing over-education in jobs with low educational requirements. A successful education system involves more than simply ensuring that an increasing number of students become somewhat cleverer. With educational fundamentalism quantitative concerns take the upper hand over qualitative concerns and quality suffers. What an academic degree stands for becomes highly uncertain.