Knowledge transfer in academia: an exploratory study on the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome

Today’s society is often claimed to be the “knowledge society”. Knowledge transfer plays a pivotal role in the whole economic system, influencing innovation management in its very core. This study deals with one of the barriers that might hamper knowledge transfer: The Not-Invented-Here Syndrome (NIH). Until now, this phenomenon was mainly analyzed in an industrial context. However, as the universities play an increasingly important role in the knowledge society, the time seems ripe to analyze this barrier of knowledge transfer in an academic context. This paper examines the influence of the research discipline, the scientific output, the attitude towards basic science and the project experience on NIH by analyzing a sample of 166 Austrian professors from the fields of physics and engineering. While we cannot find a significant impact of the first two aspects, we can demonstrate that the latter two do have a significant influence on NIH. Summing up, this study supports results from the existing literature on NIH and sheds light on new aspects providing deeper insights into the comprehension of this complex phenomenon.

[1]  Herwig Mehrwald,et al.  Das ‘Not Invented Here‚-Syndrom in Forschung und Entwicklung , 1999 .

[2]  B. Wechsler,et al.  Organizational Commitment: Antecedents and Outcomes in Public Organizations , 1996 .

[3]  J. Solleiro,et al.  Motivations and obstacles to university industry cooperation (UIC): a Mexican case , 1994 .

[4]  Ulrich Lichtenthaler,et al.  Attitudes to Externally Organising Knowledge Management Tasks: A Review, Reconsideration and Extension of the NIH Syndrome , 2006 .

[5]  Stephen G. West,et al.  Structural equation models with non-normal variables: Problems and remedies , 1995 .

[6]  Edwin Mansfield,et al.  Basic Research and Productivity Increase in Manufacturing , 1980 .

[7]  Paul S. Goodman,et al.  Creating effective University-industry alliances: An organizational learning perspective , 1997 .

[8]  F. Veloso,et al.  The determinants of research output and impact: A study of Mexican researchers , 2007 .

[9]  R. Katz,et al.  An Investigation into the Managerial Roles and Career Paths of Gatekeepers and Project Supervisors in a Major R&D Facility : R&D Management , 2011 .

[10]  Factors influencing the bias towards one's own group. , 1972 .

[11]  David L. Deeds,et al.  An Analysis of the Critical Role of Public Science in Innovation: The Case of Biotechnology , 2000 .

[12]  Edwin Mansfield,et al.  Academic research and industrial innovation , 1991 .

[13]  C. Renault,et al.  Academic Capitalism and University Incentives for Faculty Entrepreneurship , 2006 .

[14]  G. Monbiot Guard dogs of perception: The corporate takeover of science , 2003, Science and engineering ethics.

[15]  Benjamin F. Jones,et al.  Supporting Online Material Materials and Methods Figs. S1 to S3 References the Increasing Dominance of Teams in Production of Knowledge , 2022 .

[16]  F. Scott Fitzgerald,et al.  Crack-Up , 2019, Dark Star.

[17]  M. Zanna,et al.  Attitudes and Attitude Change , 1993 .

[18]  J. Enders,et al.  Universities in Evolutionary Systems of Innovation , 2008 .

[19]  John T. Scott,et al.  Barriers Inhibiting Industry from Partnering with Universities: Evidence from the Advanced Technology Program , 2000 .

[20]  Nabil Amara,et al.  Determinants of knowledge transfer: evidence from Canadian university researchers in natural sciences and engineering , 2007 .

[21]  Paula E. Stephan The Economics of Science , 1996 .

[22]  Michael A. Greiner,et al.  Barriers and Bridges for Successful Environmental Technology Transfer , 2003 .

[23]  Jennifer A. Chatman,et al.  Organizational commitment and psychological attachment: The effects of compliance, identification, and internalization on prosocial behavior. , 1986 .

[24]  K. Bollen,et al.  Improper Solutions in Structural Equation Models , 2001 .

[25]  J. Hair Multivariate data analysis , 1972 .

[26]  S. Krimsky,et al.  Academic-Corporate Ties in Biotechnology: A Quantitative Study , 1991, Science, technology & human values.

[27]  B. Byrne Structural equation modeling with EQS : basic concepts, applications, and programming , 2000 .

[28]  H. Etzkowitz,et al.  The Future of the University and the University of the Future: Evolution of Ivory Tower to Entrepreneurial Paradigm , 2000 .

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

[30]  Matthew Rafferty,et al.  The Bayh-Dole Act and University Research and Development , 2007 .

[31]  Steve J. Kramer,et al.  Academic-Practitioner Collaboration in Management Research: A Case of Cross-Profession Collaboration , 2001 .

[32]  R. Katz,et al.  Investigating the Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome: A look at the performance, tenure, and communication patterns of 50 R & D Project Groups , 1982 .

[33]  Benjamin F. Jones The Burden of Knowledge and the &Apos;Death of the Renaissance Man&Apos;: Is Innovation Getting Harder? , 2005 .

[34]  U. Schmoch,et al.  Science-based technologies: university-industry interactions in four fields , 1998 .

[35]  B. Rosen,et al.  Overcoming Barriers to Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Teams , 2007 .

[36]  PetermannFranz Bühner, M. (2006). Einführung in die Test- und Fragebogenkonstruktion , 2009 .

[37]  Jacob Schmookler,et al.  Invention and Economic Growth , 1967 .

[38]  Markus Bühner Einführung in die Test- und Fragebogenkonstruktion , 2008 .

[39]  Garry Jennings,et al.  Finding improved medicines: the role of academic–industrial collaboration , 2005, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery.

[40]  R. Calantone,et al.  The Impact of Market Knowledge Competence on New Product Advantage: Conceptualization and Empirical Examination , 1998 .

[41]  David B. Thomas,et al.  Links between universities and industry , 1987 .

[42]  D. Faems,et al.  Book review: Open Innovation: Researching a New Paradigm / by H. Chesbrough, W. Vanhaverbeke and J. West. - Oxford University Press. - ISBN 978-0-19929072-7 , 2008 .

[43]  Snejina Michailova,et al.  Diagnosing and Fighting Knowledge-Sharing Hostility , 2002 .

[44]  Kazuhiro Asakawa,et al.  R&D Collaborations and Product Innovation , 2010 .

[45]  D Blumenthal,et al.  Relationships between academic institutions and industry in the life sciences--an industry survey. , 1996, The New England journal of medicine.

[46]  Donald de B. Beaver,et al.  Studies in scientific collaboration , 2005, Scientometrics.

[47]  Donald de B. Beaver,et al.  Studies in scientific collaboration , 1978, Scientometrics.

[48]  J. Scott Armstrong,et al.  Estimating nonresponse bias in mail surveys. , 1977 .

[49]  M. Kozak,et al.  Emotional processing of fear: exposure to corrective information. , 1986, Psychological bulletin.

[50]  I. Nonaka A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation , 1994 .

[51]  Joanna Poyago-Theotoky,et al.  Universities and Fundamental Research: Reflections on the Growth of University–Industry Partnerships , 2002 .

[52]  Robert Powell Clagett Receptivity to innovation - overcoming N.I.H. , 1967 .

[53]  R. Veugelers,et al.  Designing Contracts for University Spin-Offs , 2008 .

[54]  Karsten Boyens Externe Verwertung von technologischem Wissen , 1998 .

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

[56]  Sukanya Kemp,et al.  Growth and productive efficiency of university intellectual property licensing , 2002 .

[57]  M. Wright,et al.  Technology transfer offices and commercialization of university intellectual property: performance and policy implications , 2007 .

[58]  Gabriel Szulanski Exploring internal stickiness: Impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm , 1996 .

[59]  Henry Chesbrough,et al.  Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology , 2003 .

[60]  Frederick Betz,et al.  Academic/government/industry strategic research partnerships , 1997 .

[61]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Relationships and Tasks in Scientific Research Collaboration , 1987, Hum. Comput. Interact..

[62]  M. Ann McFadyen,et al.  The Complementary Roles of Applied and Basic Research: A Knowledge‐Based Perspective* , 2005 .

[63]  D. E. Stokes Pasteur's Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation , 1997 .

[64]  Daniel L. Wann,et al.  Collective self‐esteem consequences of outgroup derogation when a valued social identity is on trial , 1994 .

[65]  Daniel W. Elfenbein,et al.  Publications, Patents, and the Market for University Inventions , 2006 .

[66]  Wolfgang Glänzel,et al.  Inflationary bibliometric values: The role of scientific collaboration and the need for relative indicators in evaluative studies , 2004, Scientometrics.