engleski

Knowledge transfer process in life sciences

This dissertation focuses on academic-industry knowledge and technology transfer in life sciences, the research area that has received much attention in the science policy, innovation and entrepreneurship literature over the past thirty years. In this research I define knowledge transfer as the application and sharing of scientific knowledge, new discoveries and innovations between scientists from academic and other research institutions and the commercial sector. Non-profit institutions involved in life science research include universities, government laboratories, research institutes and research hospitals (Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation 2003). The dissertation explores four main research problems. First, numerous studies investigating the benefits and challenges of academic-industry knowledge transfer process yield rich but often conflicting and fragmented findings, without clear policy implications and recommendations on how to facilitate this process. More precisely, there is no agreement among the authors of empirical studies regarding the particular academic-industry knowledge transfer drivers, both on the individual and the organizational level. Also, when conducting comparative analyses of academic institutions with respect to their knowledge and technology transfer performance, different authors focus on different measures and predictors of performance. Therefore, the general framework for evaluating the effectiveness of academic-industry knowledge transfer and its impact on public science has not been conceptualized yet. Second, despite the growing interest in the impact of academic-industry knowledge transfer on knowledge sharing restrictions among the members of the life science academic communities, the majority of studies have focused on patenting, leaving the effects of other forms of knowledge transfer largely underexplored. Also, in assessing this knowledge transfer-knowledge sharing relationship, many studies have failed to consider the potential heterogeneity of different forms of academic knowledge sharing. Furthermore, there is an overall lack of research in this area in institutional contexts other than the USA. Accordingly, the individual-level knowledge transfer-knowledge sharing model has not been conceptualized in a comprehensive manner yet. Third, drawing from the social capital theory, existing empirical studies mostly investigate only a narrow range of determinants of knowledge sharing restrictions in the life science academic community, which provides partial understanding of this research phenomenon. Thus, there is a need for identification and empirical assessment of a range of both personal and context-specific predictors of knowledge sharing restrictions, which contribute to existing theory and allow the generation of specific science policy recommendations. Fourth, little is known about how life science research funding and existing intellectual property rights system facilitate innovation performance of the international healthcare biotechnology business sector. The identification of key determinants that motivate the biotechnology innovation performance is of practical importance for the management of companies that compete in this sector. The identified research problems are addressed in four chapters of the doctoral dissertation. The first chapter of the doctoral dissertation provides a systematic review of the accumulated body of knowledge on academic-industry knowledge transfer, with a particular emphasis on life sciences. Following the systematic analysis and synthesis of 135 articles published between 1980 and 2014, we discuss the most interesting findings for each of the six identified principal academic-industry research topics: involvement predictors and motivators, role of incentives, institutional performance determinants, knowledge transfer institutionalization, relationship with scientific output and impact on open science. Based on our findings, we propose a conceptual framework for studying academic-industry knowledge transfer and evaluating its effectiveness and impact on public science. In the second chapter of the dissertation, we explore how different knowledge transfer processes between academia and industry impede formal and informal knowledge sharing in the field of life sciences. We perform an extensive review of the existing literature and collect qualitative data from 38 in-depth interviews with academics, industry professionals and technology transfer specialists from six countries. We develop a grounded theoretical framework for individual knowledge transfer-knowledge sharing interactions. In the third chapter of the dissertation we empirically test the knowledge transfer-knowledge sharing conceptual model on a sample of 212 life scientists from Croatia. We hypothesize that the involvement in academic-industry knowledge transfer is positively associated with knowledge sharing restrictions, but the strength of the relationship varies depending on academic-industry knowledge transfer activity type and knowledge sharing form in question. Moreover, we include into our analysis a range of hypothesized personal and context-specific predictors of knowledge sharing restrictions. The fourth chapter of the dissertation analyses determinants of innovation performance in the healthcare biotechnology industry to develop propositions for the future development of this sector. We use empirical data to point to specific differences in this domain between Europe and USA. We build from a body of literature investigating the historical development of the industry, its expansion to new entities and new scientific fields and the role of different sources of funding of biomedical commercialization process. We use the theory of innovative enterprise and the “maximizing shareholder value” concept to elucidate determinants of biotechnology innovation performance. This study deepens our knowledge about academic-industry knowledge transfer interactions. We make several key contributions to the field of knowledge from the theoretical, methodological and practical perspective: First, by performing a comprehensive and systematic review of empirical studies on main academic-industry knowledge transfer mechanisms we emphasize both the broad developments and exceptional findings in this research area, as well as outline those topics that have so far received limited empirical evidence, despite their salience. Second, the systematic review enables us to propose a new conceptual framework for assessment of the effectiveness of academic-industry knowledge transfer and its impact on public science, which should help direct the future empirical research in this area. Third, by analysing broader implications of knowledge transfer activities for academic settings, the study contributes to the ongoing debates on the relationship between commercial activities and open science at academic institutions. This is of great relevance for the national and institutional policy makers, who have been highly interested in both the drivers of academic-industry knowledge transfer and the consequences of these activities for public science. Fourth, this study is the first that conceptualizes and empirically tests academic-industry knowledge transfer-knowledge sharing relationship by considering the heterogeneity of different forms of academic knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing. Fifth, this is the first study that comprehensively explores the role of the institutional context in knowledge transfer-knowledge sharing interactions. Sixth, the study contributes to the body of knowledge on determinants of sharing restrictions among academic life scientists. The dissertation takes into account a broad range of individual and context-specific predictors of knowledge sharing restrictions, which enables the generation of specific science policy recommendations. Seventh, by using two divergent theories in assessment of how university-generated intellectual property rights, public investments into knowledge base and business funding mechanisms affect biotechnology innovation performance, the study contributes to our understanding of driving forces of innovation performance in healthcare biotechnology. Finally, from the methodological perspective, this study is the first to introduce the measures of the extent of both formal and informal knowledge sharing restrictions among the members of the life science community. In the dissertation we deploy a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods, including in-depth literature review, systematic review, in-depth semi-structured interviews, univariate and bivariate statistics as well as multivariate analyses (regression analyses).

knowledge transfer, academia-industry, life sciences, determinants, implications, knowledge sharing restrictions, institutional context, innovation, biotechnology industry

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