ICC Advance Access published online on June 3, 2009
Industrial and Corporate Change, doi:10.1093/icc/dtp015
The two faces of collaboration: impacts of university-industry relations on public research
Correspondence: Markus Perkmann, Imperial College Business School, Tanaka Building, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. e-mail: m.perkmann{at}imperial.ac.uk
Correspondence: Kathryn Walsh, Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK. e-mail: k.walsh{at}lboro.ac.uk
We analyze the impact of university–industry relationships on public research. Our inductive study of university–industry collaboration in engineering suggests that basic projects are more likely to yield academically valuable knowledge than applied projects. However, applied projects show higher degrees of partner interdependence and therefore enable exploratory learning by academics, leading to new ideas and projects. This result holds especially for research-oriented academics working in the "sciences of the artificial" and engaging in multiple relationships with industry. Our learning-centred interpretation qualifies the notion of entrepreneurial science as a driver of applied university–industry collaboration. We conclude with implications for science and technology policy.