Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Papers in Innovation Studies,
Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research

No 2009/4: University professors and research commercialization: An empirical test of the “knowledge corridor” thesis

Jonas Gabrielsson (), Politis Diamanto and Joakim Tell
Additional contact information
Jonas Gabrielsson: CIRCLE, Lund University, Postal: PO Box 117, Sölvegatan 16, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
Politis Diamanto: KEEN, Halmstad University
Joakim Tell: CTIM, Halmstad University

Abstract: There has been an increasing interest in the determinants and outcomes of successful technology transfer and commercialization of research results. In this study we test the validity of the “knowledge corridor” thesis for explaining the involvement of university professors’ in the early stages of research commercialization. Statistical analysis on a sample of 86 respondents from engineering, natural science and medical faculties in a large Swedish university shows that both entrepreneurial and private industry experience significantly influence their ability to spot and generate business ideas in their research. Moreover, we find that research based business idea generation increase at a faster rate for professors with private sector work experience who have more time for research in their positions. The article ends with a discussion of our empirical findings together with its implications for support activities related to technology transfer and commercialization of research results.

Keywords: academic entrepreneurship; knowledge corridor; research commercialization

JEL-codes: O30

31 pages, May 1, 2009

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200904_Gabrielsson_et_al.pdf PDF-file 

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