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Aalborg Universitet The role of university-industry interaction in regional industrial development Research collaborations and graduate human capital as complementary university-industry knowledge transfer channels Evers, Gerwin Publication date: 2020 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication from Aalborg University Citation for published version (APA): Evers, G. (2020). The role of university-industry interaction in regional industrial development: Research collaborations and graduate human capital as complementary university-industry knowledge transfer channels. Aalborg Universitetsforlag. Aalborg Universitet. Det Samfundsvidenskabelige Fakultet. 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Downloaded from vbn.aau.dk on: October 03, 2021 THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY INTERACTION IN REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRIAL REGIONAL IN INTERACTION UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY OF ROLE THE THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY INTERACTION IN REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS AND GRADUATE HUMAN CAPITAL AS COMPLEMENTARY UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER CHANNELS BY GERWIN EVERS DISSERTATION SUBMITTED 2020 GERWIN EVERS GERWIN The role of university-industry interaction in regional industrial development Research collaborations and graduate human capital as complementary university-industry knowledge transfer channels PhD Dissertation Gerwin Evers Dissertation submitted April 2020 Dissertation submitted: April 23, 2020 PhD supervisor: Professor Christian Richter Østergaard Aalborg University Co-Supervisor: Associate Professor Rebecca Herron University of Lincoln RUNIN project mentor: Head of Analysis Maria Theresa Norn Think tank DEA PhD committee: Associate professor Jacob Rubæk Holm (chairman) Aalborg University Professor Alessandra Faggian Gran Sasso Science Institute Associate professor Anders Broström Stockholm University PhD Series: Faculty of Social Sciences, Aalborg University Department: ISSN (online): 2246-1256 ISBN (online): 978-87-7210-634-2 Published by: Aalborg University Press Langagervej 2 DK – 9220 Aalborg Ø Phone: +45 99407140 [email protected] forlag.aau.dk © Copyright: Gerwin Evers Printed in Denmark by Rosendahls, 2020 Standard pages: 274 pages (2,400 characters incl. spaces). Curriculum Vitae Gerwin Evers Aalborg University Department of Business and Management Fibigerstræde 11 [email protected] Education 2011 - 2014 BSc Science and Innovation Management, Utrecht Univer- sity 2014 - 2016 MSc Innovation Sciences, Utrecht University Research 2016 Research Intern, Netherlands Enterprise Agency 2016 - 2017 Junior researcher, Utrecht University 2017 - present PhD Fellow, Aalborg University Publications • Evers, G., 2019. The impact of the establishment of a university in a pe- ripheral region on the local labour market for graduates. Regional Stud- ies Regional Science. 6, 319–330. doi: 10.1080/21681376.2019.1584051 • Germain-Alamartine, E., Ahoba-Sam, R., Saman-Moghadam, S., & Ev- ers, G. (forthcoming). Doctoral Graduates’ Transition to Industry: Net- works as a Mechanism? Cases from Norway, Sweden and the UK. Stud- ies in Higher Education. • Guerrero, D. F., & Evers, G. (forthcoming). Co-creation of Localised Capabilities between Universities and Nascent Industries: The Case of Aalborg University and the North Denmark Region. Chapter in book on The Role of Universities in Regional Development and Innovation. iii Curriculum Vitae iv Abstract The relevance of the university as centuries-old institution has been renewed with the rise of the knowledge-based economy. As research and educational institutions, universities are in a key position to help other actors thrive in an economy in which knowledge has become the main source of competitive advantage. Through the development of their so-called ‘third mission’, uni- versities can have an impact on society by supplying both public and private actors with knowledge and requisite human capital. While the internationalisation of academic research and university educa- tion has transformed universities into players in global networks, universities still have an undeniable, strong regional character. The knowledge transfer channels between universities and industry tend to be geographically bound owing to the inherent ‘stickiness’ of knowledge and the immobility of its car- riers. The literature shows that both codifiable knowledge interactions—such as patents and publications—as interactions that require physical interaction, tend to benefit from geographical proximity. Many studies consider graduate human capital and research collaboration to be highly important channels for realising university–industry knowledge transfer. This thesis set out to expand the understanding of how these two university–industry knowledge transfer channels contribute to regional in- dustrial development by answering the following question: What is the role of university–industry research collaborations and graduate production for the impact of universities on re- gional industrial development? The insights are based on analyses of Danish micro-level data, Community Innovation Survey data, interview data, and other data using a variety of empirical techniques. The results highlight the importance of the specific characteristics of regional contexts in relation to the impact of universities on regional industrial development. While universities can play a role in the economic revival of their regions, the extent to which this happens depends on the extent to which the university is related to the industrial specialisation that is prevalent in the region of its location. Failing to achieve this related- v Abstract ness is likely to reduce the potential contribution of universities to regional industrial development. This thesis argues in favour of a comprehensive approach in which research collaborations and graduate human capital are treated as two interdependent channels. Further, it emphasizes that univer- sity–industry knowledge transfer is, in numerous cases, not an automatic process and, therefore, can benefit from deliberate action by both private and public actors to overcome these hurdles. Finally, it must be noted that miracles regarding regional industrial devel- opment must not be expected from university–industry interaction. Univer- sities are, first and foremost, research and educational institutions. However, the increased call for the development of a third mission does not necessar- ily conflict with this, as this thesis emphasizes that the university missions are not an equal sum game; the third mission activities of universities, like research collaborations, can contribute to the teaching mission by increasing the employment opportunities for graduates and potentially benefit from the university-industry co-evolutionary dynamics that these activities fuel. In this manner, the potential of universities to contribute to regional industrial development can be unlocked. vi Resumé Relevansen af den århundrede gamle institution: universitetet er blevet fornyet med fremvæksten af den videnbaserede økonomi. Som forsknings- og ud- dannelsesinstitution er universiteter i en vital position for at hjælpe andre aktører med at vokse i en økonomi, hvor viden er blevet den vigtigste kilde til konkurrencefordele. Gennem udviklingen af deres såkaldte ’tredje mis- sions aktiviteter’ kan universiteter have en indflydelse på samfundet ved at forsyne både offentlige og private aktører med viden og den nødvendige humane kapital. Mens internationaliseringen af akademisk forskning og universitetsud- dannelse har gjort universiteter til aktører i globale netværk, har universiteter stadig en ubestridelig stærk regional karakter. Ser man på videnoverførsel mellem universiteter og virksomheder er der en tendens til at være en stærk geografisk bias på grund af den iboende ’klæbrighed’ af viden og lav ge- ografisk mobilitet af bærerne af denne. Både kodificerbare vidensinterak- tioner - såsom patenter og publikationer - samt ikke-kodificerbare vidensin- teraktioner, der kræver fysisk interaktion, har en tendens til at drage fordel af den geografiske nærhed. Mange studier betragter kandidatuddannet humane kapital og forskn- ingssamarbejde som meget vigtige kanaler til realisering af videnoverførsel mellem universiteter og virksomheder. Denne afhandling har til formål at udvide forståelsen af, hvordan disse to videnoverførselskanaler mellem uni- versiteter og virksomheder bidrager til regional industriel udvikling ved at besvare følgende spørgsmål: Hvilken rolle spiller universitets-industri forskningssamarbe- jde og kandidatproduktion for universiteternes indvirkning på regional industriel udvikling? Afhandligen er baseret på analyser af danske registerbaserede data på mikro-