Knowledge and technology transfer performance of European universities and research institutions: assessing the influence of institutional by-laws and practices

Abstract

Several studies have shown that the knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) performance of universities and research institutions can be explained by institutional differences. Some of the factors that influence performance include providing staff incentives and the establishment of a knowledge transfer office (KTO). However, only a few empirical studies have looked at the influence of institutional by-laws and practices on KTT performance, even though they might have strong impacts. We use 2010 and 2011 data for 224 European universities and 48 public research organisations to investigate the effects of KTO characteristics, staff incentives, and policies on three measures of KTT: the number of invention disclosures, patent applications and licenses. Using a negative binomial count model, we find that a written IP policy is correlated with an increase in all three outcomes, although open publication of policies has no effect. Rules on managing conflict are positively correlated with the number of invention disclosures and patent applications. The only incentive for researchers that has a consistent positive effect on all outcome measures is to give inventors a share of the revenues. Non-monetary rewards such as career enhancement or social rewards have no effect.