The effect of proximity between universities and research institutes and firms on firm innovativeness

ABSTRACT

Innovativeness is generally considered as a prerequisite for a firm’s success and survival in a competitive business environment. The proximity between a firm and its knowledge source is often seen as an important contributor to the firm’s innovativeness, but proximity is multidimensional and involves much more than mere geographical proximity, particularly in the internet era. This paper examines the direct and indirect effects of multidimensional proximity between firms and universities/research institutes on firm innovativeness in a weak National Innovation System (NIS) country by considering knowledge interaction as a mediating variable. In order to test the hypotheses, structural equation modelling is performed on data collected from innovative firms in Thailand. The results indicate that the organizational proximity and technological proximity between firms and their university/research institute partners play an indirect role in enhancing the innovativeness of firms through knowledge interactions. The results have significant policy and managerial implications.

KEYWORDS:

• proximity
• firm innovativeness
• knowledge interaction
• university–industry linkages
• Thailand

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Nucharin Ratchukool is a Ph.D. candidate at School of Management, Asian Institute of Technology. She also works at the Organization Strategy Management Division, National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA). Her research interests center around the strategic management and science, technology and innovation policy, with a special interest on developing countries.

Barbara Igel holds the Dr rer. pol. in Economics from the Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany (https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/freie-universitaet-berlin#wurs). She is a full Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management and former Dean at the AIT School of Management, Asian Institute of Technology, and has been several times Visiting Professor at the Helsinki University of Technology. Her research projects deal with New Ventures, High-tech Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Innovation in Complex Products Systems and Disruptive Innovation Strategy and were published in Intl. J of Production Research, Technovation, Management Research Review, Systemic Practice and Action Research, Intl J of Quality and Reliability, Intl. J of Innovation Management and J of Social Entrepreneurship, among others.

ORCID

Barbara Igel http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3794-1552