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MICROFOUNDATIONS of ACADEMICS' NETWORKS: INITIATION, EVOLUTION and CONTEXT R. AHOBA-SAM Doctor of Philosophy 2020

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MICROFOUNDATIONS of ACADEMICS' NETWORKS: INITIATION, EVOLUTION and CONTEXT R. AHOBA-SAM Doctor of Philosophy 2020 MICROFOUNDATIONS OF ACADEMICS’ NETWORKS: INITIATION, EVOLUTION AND CONTEXT R. AHOBA-SAM Doctor of Philosophy 2020 This page has been intentionally left blank MICROFOUNDATIONS OF ACADEMICS’ NETWORKS: INITIATION, EVOLUTION AND CONTEXT RHODA AHOBA-SAM A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Lincoln for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2020 DECLARATION This is to certify that: I. this thesis represents work originally conducted by me towards the PhD; II. in instances where joint work is presented, due acknowledgement is offered in the text; III. all materials have been attributed due acknowledgement; IV. the thesis is less than 100,000 words in length, inclusive of tables, figures, bibliographies, appendices and footnotes. Rhoda Ahoba-Sam iii ABSTRACT The world over, universities are increasingly challenged to make economic contributions to their host cities. Universities are particularly the target of this challenge because of the belief that knowledge intensive institutions are critical to the building of a knowledge-based economy and thus increasing regional competitiveness. Subsequently, the weight placed on universities has resulted in a stretch in universities’ traditional missions of research and teaching to include a third mission. This so-called third mission is operationalised in universities’ engagement with their communities as characterised by collaborations with industry partners, among others. It is understood that by establishing close ties with industry for instance, both entities could together improve the fortunes of their communities through problem solving and creativity that contribute to innovation. Simply, University-Industry Collaborations (UICs) play a key in the regional innovation process. This thesis takes a determined stance. Where collaborations between universities and industry is concerned, individuals are the critical conduits for the process of knowledge exchange. Additionally, knowledge collaborations are embedded within networks stemming from both university and industry entities. Indeed, individuals who are critical to the competiveness of their regions do not act in isolation – they network. Interestingly however, existing research on UICs is mainly focused on the organisational level. Also, while networking forms a critical aspect of the theories on regional innovation, networks are rarely the focus in studies on regional innovation. To that effect, this thesis focuses on the networks of individuals especially in university and industry collaborations. The interest of this work is to explore foundational aspects of networks by placing the spotlight on individual academic scientists and their network ties. Consequently, the aim of this thesis is to investigate how individual contacts of a given academic could shape his knowledge exchange network. To achieve this aim, the study assumes a tripartite nature in which I explore the initiation, evolution and context of academics’ networks. The analysis presented in this work draws upon 100 semi-structured interviews with academic scientists and other relevant stakeholders in the knowledge exchange process where an attempt is made to obtain insight into networking as embedded in academic engagement. iv Overall, this thesis has yielded insight into i) how the personal networks of individual academics are built, especially from a geographic perspective where motivations are linked to regional and extra-regional incentives; ii) how the networks of individual academic scientists evolve over time and what factors influence this process and, iii) not least, the effect of the institutional and regional contexts on knowledge exchange processes as exemplified in academics’ networks. The insights emerging from this thesis have interesting implications for policy making. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis marks the culmination of a unique journey for me. Working on attaining a PhD the last 3 years has been an experience characterised by many changing scenes; smiles, cries, and in deed broken bones! Thankfully, the LORD kept me through it all for I know I never would have made it this far without His help. O magnify the LORD with me and let us exalt His name together! (Ps. 34:3). To my supervisor David Charles: You have simply been awesome. It was very unsettling when you first announced your move from the University of Lincoln to Northumbria University. Fortunately, my research continued swiftly with your unwavering support and encouragement. I appreciate you. I would also like to thank my co-supervisors Rebecca Herron and Andrea Caputo both of the University of Lincoln for their support over the years. I appreciate David Twigg my line manager and the team at the Lincoln International Business School for all the kindness shown me. I was fortunate to obtain financial support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 722295 through the RUNIN project for this research. The RUNIN project, on the Role of Universities in Innovation and Regional Development has been, overall, a super experience for me. I feel really blessed to have been one of fourteen Early Career Researchers to land a PhD scholarship under the project. Beyond research, we have become a family. I wish to appreciate Rune Dahl Fitjar (RUNIN project leader) and Kristoffer W. Moldekleiv (RUNIN project coordinator) for all the support. Kristoffer, not many people I have encountered could convince me to climb up the Preikestolen! You did well. To Kwadwo Atta-Owusu, thank you for all the encouragement and sharing with me the tale of the giant snail. Medaase. Thanks to Eloïse Germain-Alamartine for being a trusted opinion and teaching me to knit. Thank you to Maria Theresa Norn for your useful feedback and making time for me. To all others in the RUNIN family especially my colleague ESRs, encountering you has left an indelible mark on my life – thank you. vi Through the RUNIN project, I have had the opportunity to undertake research secondments to the University of Stavanger, Norway and Linköping University, Sweden. I would like to thank these institutions and especially the various staff I encountered who motivated me to work hard. To Marte Cecilie Wilhelmsen Solheim, your kind words will always stay with me...‘beina stå på jorda!’ Thank you to Ron Boschma and Andrés Rodríguez-Pose for offering the first most challenging, and yet very motivating feedback of my thesis during my stay in Stavanger. Thank you to Dzamila Bienkowska for listening to and encouraging me. I am grateful to various people who listened to my presentations and offered feedback at various events such as the Regional Innovation Policies (RIP) conference at Santiago de Compostela (October 2017), the Global Conference in Economic Geography (GCEG) in Cologne (July 2018), the Triple Helix Conference (THC) in Manchester (September 2018) and more recently, the Geography of Innovation (GeoInno) Conference in Stavanger (January 2020). Also, thank you to the Triple Helix Association for funding my attendance to the THC. I would also like to express my profound gratitude to Emmanuel Adu-Ampong, Mabel Sánchez-Barrioluengo, Daniel Schiller and Thomas Brenner for offering detailed and constructive feedback at various points. Many thanks to ALL my friends for their support. Being a Marie-Curie scholar has meant a high level of mobility and staying in a country which was not my usual place of abode - the UK. I most heartily thank the Rigg-Stewarts whose home in London became a second for me, offering me a getaway from Lincoln whenever I needed a break. I appreciate my dear mother Margaret, brothers Samson, Jude, Enoch and Elijah and the entire family for their huge support. Mama Eu, thank you. I am very grateful. My children Nyansa and Enyimpa have been complete charmers throughout this process. Thanks for allowing me time to pursue this endeavour – you have also paid your due. My fondest appreciation goes to my dear husband, my Chris. Thanks for always giving me the necessary push. You are the real hero of my story. This is for you! vii This page has been intentionally left blank viii CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 - MICROFOUNDATIONS OF ACADEMICS’ NETWORKS ........................ 1 1.1 CONTEXTUALISATION OF THE RESEARCH .................................................. 2 1.1.1 Network Initiation ................................................................................................... 6 1.1.2 Network Evolution .................................................................................................. 6 1.1.3 Context of Academics’ Networks ........................................................................... 7 1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES .................................................................................... 8 1.2.1 Project Context ........................................................................................................ 9 1.3 VALUE ADDITION OF THE THESIS ...................................................................... 10 1.4 SUMMARY OF THESIS STRUCTURE .................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE SURVEY ............................................................................. 15 2.1 THE CHANGING DEMANDS ON UNIVERSITIES ................................................ 15 2.1.1 Universities’ engagement and third mission roles ................................................ 16 2.1.2 University-Industry Collaborations ......................................................................
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