Editorial: Moving beyond metaphors: University-industry collaboration in biotechnology
A PERCEIVED GAP There is enormous public interest in the role of universities as a primary source of new knowledge, new skills and new ideas for addressing many issues facing industrialised societies. In recognition of this, programmes to promote university–industry collaboration have expanded rapidly in recent years. Nevertheless, despite an abundance of such programmes and resources to facilitate the translation of technology from universities to industry, there often appear to be very significant disparities between the needs and requirements of industry and the university. A couple of recent quotes serve to illustrate this point:
Editorial: a strategy to optimise the business value of Intellectual Property
In this paper, we suggest that, although Intellectual Property (IP) is an intangible asset of a firm, it is now treated effectively as if it were a tangible product. It is also a strong determinant of the success of biotechnology firms, since it is assessed carefully by investors, potential partners and acquirers, who understand that the value of a biotechnology firm is ultimately related to the sophistication with which it operates in the IP arena. As such, we propose that a viable corporate strategy should be one that recognises IP as an activity, like research and development, as part of a value chain, and which can only create value in combination with other production factors. A well-defined, cohesive strategy should deliver a balanced and effective IP production process, to ensure that what is protected and leveraged by firms is of real business value and has the best chance of being licensed.
A study of technology transfer in a multinational cooperative joint venture
The problem of technology transfer has been extensively addressed from many different perspectives. Very few of the research studies, however, have examined it as a process, trying to understand more about how different kinds of technologies are transferred across organizational boundaries. This research examines the transfer of technologies over a three-year period in an international joint venture comprising three operating divisions of large multinational chemical companies located in Germany, the United States, and Japan. A total sample of 208 technologies are identified as having been transferred between the venture's partners. Descriptions of the types of technologies, the methods used to transfer them, their degrees of success, and the organizational, national, and cultural differences in which the international transfers took place are investigated.