Knowledge management in academic industry collaborations: How to best foster innovation capability?

Abstract

Purpose Academic industry collaborations (AIC) are increasingly seen as a key part of national innovation policies as an approach to creating and exploiting knowledge. They, however, present a complex challenge in terms of knowledge management. This is partly due to the wide range of stakeholders, the input of government policy, and also the different cultures, practices and expectations of those involved. The research questions are as follows: RQ1: How do participants perceive and experience knowledge creation and transfer in academic industry collaborations? RQ2: How can the intersection between knowledge management literature and AIC inform and improve both disciplines and practices? Methods (1) An analysis of KM literature in terms of AIC. (2) Exploratory in-depth interviews with participant stakeholders of AIC projects. (3) Findings are then analysed in terms of existing concepts in KM literature. Findings Initial findings suggest that a more in-depth acknowledgement of the role of power, tensions and differences between stakeholders is important in understanding and improving the innovation potential of AIC projects. A more nuanced understanding of knowledge transfer is also needed with tailored approaches for particular project stages and organisations. Practical Implications The role of academic industry collaborations in fostering innovation by facilitating knowledge creation and transfer is seen as increasingly important as a social and political priority but KM has so far not yet engaged fully with this. This paper suggests that extending KM from a primarily organisation level focus to a broader societal focus would be a useful development.