University procurement-led innovation: Sources, procedures, and effects. Some field-study evidence

Abstract

This paper introduces a new perspective about the economic role of research by focusing on the impact of university procurement on firm innovation. We discuss how universities play a leading role in scientific equipment innovation, akin to the one portrayed for US and European government agencies in the context of military equipment and driven by specific missions. The key difference is that missions in university procurement emerge in a bottom-up fashion, and they are driven by the scientific agenda of university researchers. Furthermore, we discuss the basic ingredients of such a “university procurement-led innovation” and we support our claims with field-study evidence about the development of five advanced equipment co-developed by researchers at the University of Strasbourg (France) together with their suppliers.