Geographic proximity and university–industry interaction: the case of Mexico

This paper analyses whether geographic proximity favours specific channels of university–industry interaction when firms collaborate with universities and with government research centres. Our study also provides insights regarding the relationship between the associated channel and the role of firms’ absorptive capacities. Our results show that firms with higher levels of absorptive capacities tend to interact more independently of their location. Additionally, interaction with non-local universities generally includes the transfer of codified forms of knowledge, while links with local universities includes more tacit forms of knowledge. Policy implications derived from this analysis focus on fostering interaction at local and non-local levels.

[1]  R. Boschma.  Proximity and Innovation: A Critical Assessment , 2005 .

[2]  Ulrich Schmoch,et al.  New activities of universities in transfer and extension: multiple requirements and manifold solutions , 2009 .

[3]  R. Florida.  The Rise of the Creative Class , 2002 .

[4]  K. Pavitt.  Sectoral Patterns of Technical Change : Towards a Taxonomy and a Theory : Research Policy , 1984 .

[5]  Elisa Giuliani,et al.  Cluster Absorptive Capacity , 2005 .

[6]  P. Boardman,et al.  University researchers working with private companies , 2009 .

[7]  K. Morgan.  The Exaggerated Death of Geography , 2004, Geography.

[8]  Patarapong Intarakumnerd,et al.  University-industry linkages in thailand: successes, failures, and lessons learned for other developing countries , 2008 .

[9]  A. Kokko,et al.  The Economics of Foreign Direct Investment Incentives , 2003 .

[10]  E. Mansfield,et al.  The modern university: contributor to industrial innovation and recipient of industrial R&D support , 1996 .

[11]  Bengt-Åke Lundvall,et al.  National Systems of Innovation: towards a theory of innovation and interactive learning London: Pint , 1995 .

[12]  Adela García-Aracil,et al.  Industry–University Interactions in a Peripheral European Region: An Empirical Study of Valencian Firms , 2008 .

[13]  Pablo D'Este,et al.  University-industry linkages in the UK: What are the factors underlying the variety of interactions with industry? , 2007 .

[14]  Alessandro Muscio.  University‐industry linkages: What are the determinants of distance in collaborations?* , 2013 .

[15]  Bj⊘rn Asheim,et al.  Knowledge bases and Regional Innovation Systems: Comparing Nordic Clusters. , 2005 .

[16]  A. Neely,et al.  Gaining from interactions with universities: multiple methods for nurturing absorptive capacity , 2008 .

[17]  David A. Wolfe,et al.  Universities and regional economic development: The entrepreneurial University of Waterloo , 2008 .

[18]  Anthony Arundel,et al.  Proximity and the use of public science by innovative European firms , 2004 .

[19]  Anders Broström,et al.  Working with Distant Researchers - Distance and Content in University-Industry Interaction , 2010 .

[20]  B. Tether.  Who co-operates for innovation, and why: An empirical analysis , 2002 .

[21]  Martin Kenney,et al.  Universities, clusters, and innovation systems The case of Seoul, Korea , 2007 .

[22]  M. Perkmann,et al.  The Two Faces of Collaboration: Impacts of University-Industry Relations on Public Research , 2009 .

[23]  Josep-Maria Arauzo-Carod,et al.  Sources of innovation and industry–university interaction: Evidence from Spanish firms , 2008 .

[24]  John P. Walsh,et al.  Special Issue on University Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer: Links and Impacts: The Influence of Public Research on Industrial R&D , 2002, Manag. Sci..

[25]  An investigation on the contribution of universities and research institutes for maturing the Brazilian innovation system , 2008 .

[26]  Rna Rudi Bekkers,et al.  Analysing knowledge transfer channels between universities and industry: To what degree do sectors also matter? , 2008 .

[27]  Alok K. Chakrabarti,et al.  FIRM SIZE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRALITY IN INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY INTERACTIONS , 2002 .

[28]  Laura Abramovsky,et al.  University Research and the Location of Business R&D , 2007 .

[29]  Valeria Arza,et al.  Interactions between public research organisations and industry in Argentina , 2010 .

[30]  Renato Garcia,et al.  The role of geographic proximity for university-industry linkages in Brazil: An emprical analysis , 2013 .

[31]  G. Dutrénit,et al.  Channels and benefits of interactions between public research organisations and industry: comparing four Latin American countries , 2010 .

[32]  C. Grantham,et al.  The virtual incubator: managing human capital in the software industry , 2000 .

[33]  J. Sutz,et al.  Latin American Universities: From an Original Revolution to an Uncertain Transition , 2005 .

[34]  René Chester Goduscheit,et al.  Identifying valuable users as informants for innovation processes: Comparing the search efficiency of pyramiding and screening , 2016 .

[35]  S. Breschi,et al.  Knowledge Spillovers And Local Innovation Systems: A Critical Survey , 2001 .

[36]  A. Salter,et al.  Searching high and low: what types of firms use universities as a source of innovation? , 2004 .

[37]  Petr Hanel,et al.  Industry–University Collaboration by Canadian Manufacturing Firms* , 2006 .

[38]  J. Heckman.  Dummy Endogenous Variables in a Simultaneous Equation System , 1977 .

[39]  M. Perkmann,et al.  Why do academics engage with industry? The entrepreneurial university and individual motivations , 2009 .

[40]  Claudia De Fuentes,et al.  Channels of interaction between public research organisations and industry and benefits for both agents: evidence from Mexico , 2010 .

[41]  Claudia De Fuentes,et al.  Channels of interaction between public research organisations and industry and their benefits: evidence from Mexico , 2010 .

[42]  L. Leydesdorff,et al.  The dynamics of innovation: from National Systems and , 2000 .

[43]  M. Fritsch,et al.  Enterprise-University Co-operation and the Role of Public Research Institutions in Regional Innovation Systems , 1999 .

[44]  Bruce Tether,et al.  Beyond industry–university links: Sourcing knowledge for innovation from consultants, private research organisations and the public science-base , 2008 .

[45]  V. Arza.  Channels, benefits and risks of public–private interactions for knowledge transfer: conceptual framework inspired by Latin America , 2010 .

[46]  Maria Chiara Di Guardo,et al.  Organizing links with science: Cooperate or contract?: A project-level analysis , 2010 .

[47]  Mike Wright,et al.  Mid-range universities' linkages with industry: Knowledge types and the role of intermediaries , 2008 .

[48]  Benoît Godin,et al.  National Innovation System , 2009 .

[49]  J. Heckman.  Sample selection bias as a specification error , 1979 .

[50]  Jose Manoel Carvalho de Mello,et al.  University start-ups for breaking lock-ins of the Brazilian economy , 2009 .

[51]  Marian Beise,et al.  Public research and industrial innovations in Germany , 1999 .

[52]  M. Trajtenberg,et al.  Universities as a Source of Commercial Technology: A Detailed Analysis of University Patenting, 19651988 , 1995, Review of Economics and Statistics.

[53]  M. Fischer,et al.  Knowledge interactions between universities and industry in Austria: sectoral patterns and determinants , 2002 .

[54]  Eun Jong-Hak,et al.  China’s horizontal university-industry linkage: where from and where to , 2009 .

[55]  A. Salter,et al.  Exploring the Effect of Geographical Proximity and University Quality on University–Industry Collaboration in the United Kingdom , 2011 .

[56]  Liudvika Leisyte,et al.  University commercialization policies and their implementation in the Netherlands and the United States , 2011 .

[57]  V. Arza,et al.  What drives the formation of 'valuable' University-Industry linkages? An under-explored question in a hot policy debate , 2008 .

[58]  David C. Mowery,et al.  Universities in National Innovation Systems , 2006 .

[59]  Keun Lee,et al.  Modes of knowledge transfer from PROs and firm performance : the case of Korea , 2009 .

[60]  P. Braunerhjelm.  Specialization of Regions and Universities: The New Versus the Old , 2008 .

[61]  Gabriela Dutrénit,et al.  What are the factors driving university-industry linkages in latecomer firms: evidence from Mexico , 2011 .

[62]  J. Orozco,et al.  Quality of interactions between public research organisations and firms: lessons from Costa Rica , 2010 .

[63]  Jose Manoel Carvalho de Mello,et al.  Towards “meta-innovation” in Brazil: The evolution of the incubator and the emergence of a triple helix , 2005 .

[64]  Kimberly S. Hamilton,et al.  The increasing linkage between U.S. technology and public science , 1997 .

[65]  Maryann P. Feldman,et al.  TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND THE ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT: WHO PARTICIPATES AND WHY? , 2003 .

[66]  Thomas Bolli,et al.  Do competitively acquired funds induce universities to increase productivity , 2011 .

[67]  Michael D. Santoro,et al.  The firm's trust in its university partner as a key mediator in advancing knowledge and new technologies , 2003, IEEE Trans. Engineering Management.

[68]  Pablo D'Este,et al.  The spatial profile of university-business research partnerships , 2010 .

[69]  D. Archibugi,et al.  The globalisation of technology: a new taxonomy , 1995 .

[70]  Valeria Arza,et al.  What drives the formation of ‘valuable’ university–industry linkages?: Insights from the wine industry , 2009 .

[71]  A. Geuna,et al.  Factors affecting university-industry R&D projects: The importance of searching, screening and signalling , 2006 .

[72]  Kira R. Fabrizio,et al.  The Use of University Research in Firm Innovation , 2006 .

[73]  J. Fagerberg,et al.  The Oxford handbook of innovation , 2006 .

[74]  A. Salter,et al.  Academic Engagement and Commercialisation: A Review of the Literature on University-Industry Relations , 2012 .

[75]  G. Dutrénit,et al.  Best channels of academia–industry interaction for long-term benefit , 2012 .

[76]  A. Jaffe.  Real Effects of Academic Research , 1989 .

[77]  J. West,et al.  Open innovation : researching a new paradigm , 2008 .