What, Me Worry? Research Policy and the Open Embrace of Industry-Academic Relations

Abstract

The field of research policy has conducted extensive research on partnerships between industry and academics and concluded that such collaborations are generally beneficial. Such a view stands in stark contrast to the literature in the philosophy of science which almost wholly finds such collaborations corrosive to scientific inquiry. After reviewing the respective literatures, I propose explanations for these polarized views which support the claim that both disciplines have only a partial vantage point on the effects of industry-funded science. In closing, I outline how the research agendas of each discipline might remediate their respective shortcomings.