The industry-academic nexus: a case study of collaboration

ABSTRACT

Rationale/Purpose:

Little research has been completed in a New Zealand sport context exploring the industry-academic nexus. The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of a collaboration between a sport organisation and researchers to provide insights learned from the key partners’ perceptions.

Design/Methodology/Approach:

Within a case study design, a qualitative thematic analysis of data gathered from semi-structured interviews with seven participants was employed to gain understanding of the partnership.

Findings:

All respondents acknowledged the significant benefits of the industry-academic nexus and deemed the reciprocal relationship central to the project’s success, although there was some diffident sentiment about acknowledgement of contributions.

Practical Implications:

Insights from the nexus, such as shared vision, delineating partnership parameters, a good people “fit”, and recognising equality in a partnership, could enhance the efficacy of community-focused partnership projects.

Research Contribution:

This study broadens the understanding of industry-academia partnerships in a sport setting, reinforcing and extending the work on collaboration theory. The findings reinforce Mayer and Kenter’s (2016) collaborative framework and extends their nine elements of collaboration success including grounded and practically based academics, for industry to be open to the value of research, engagement of an insider researcher, and respect for all partners’ contributions.

KEYWORDS:

• Partnership
• interorganisational relationships (IORs)
• collaboration theory
• sport
• case study

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).