How institutional conditions impact university–industry search strategies and networks

Abstract

A wide range of research has studied interactions between academic and industrial organisations. Less research has combined institutional theory and the terminology of social networks in order to investigate how different institutional conditions across scientific fields impact university–industry search strategies and networks in various ways. Based on a comparative analysis of the institutional conditions in two different scientific fields, we argue that the UI search processes and network formations of a high-tech small firm are shaped by these different institutional conditions within which they are embedded. The study contributes to knowledge about how the significance of weak and strong ties is relative to varying institutional conditions in general high-tech vs. life sciences and why embeddedness in pre-existing ties is not necessarily the most effective means for firms to optimise UI search and network-formation strategies.

Keywords:

• university–industry collaboration
• institutional logic
• social networks
• weak ties
• search

This paper has benefitted from the guidance of the reviewers at Technology Analysis & Strategic Management as well as valuable comments by Anders Klitmøller, Kim Klyver, Mats Magnusson and seminar participants at Aarhus School of Business, Copenhagen Business School and the Academy of Management Conference in Boston. We would also like to thank Unisense A/S in general and CEO Jens Gundersen in particular for offering us such open access to their site and commercial and academic activities.