Different Modes of Innovation and the Challenge of Connecting Universities and Industry: Case Studies of Two Regional Industries in Norway

Abstract

The paper argues that no single formula exists for how universities can stimulate innovation activity and industrial development in a particular region. The type of university–industry cooperation must be fined-tuned according to the knowledge base of the university and to the dominant mode of innovation in the regional industry. This article discusses two different modes of innovation: science, technology, innovation (STI) and doing, using, interacting (DUI). The unit of analysis is innovation and cooperation with universities in two regional industries in Norway, which are dominated by the two modes of innovation: STI (marine biotechnology in Tromsø) and DUI (oil and gas equipment suppliers in Agder). The empirical analyses demonstrate the different roles that universities play in these two regional industries. The University of Tromsø is the main organization behind the development of the marine biotechnology industry in Tromsø and is an important knowledge node and source of biotechnology spin-offs. Equipment suppliers in Agder have become world leaders in some niches, almost without research cooperation with universities. A general lesson is that the dominant mode of innovation in a regional industry makes a difference to the role universities can play in stimulating the development of the industry.

Notes

A typology is like a description of a “unique combination of attributes” (Doty & Glick, 1994).

Olav R. Spilling and colleagues at the research institute NIFU STEP, in Oslo, collected and analysed these data (Borlaug et al., 2008; Spilling, 2008) and made them available for use in this research.

Manufacturing of machinery and equipment (NACE 29) includes about 3300 jobs in Agder, and the equipment suppliers that responded to the survey employ nearly 2500 people. Although NACE 29 does not correspond completely with the equipment supplies industry, the comparison indicates that the sample of 21 firms includes a good share of the jobs in the industry.

Centre for Marine Bioactives and Drug Discovery. MabCent is funded through a national programme organized by the Research Council of Norway.

This is, for example, a distinctly lower share of firms with “innovation personnel” than in the ICT and process firms in Agder, which responded to the same questionnaire as the equipment suppliers.

We are indebted to Bjørn Asheim who came up with the division between application and technological development, after visiting one of the largest equipment suppliers in the region.