Integration of Science, Technology and Business:

Investigation of the Mechanism by which Industry-Academia Collaborative Joint Research Activates Basic Research at Universities

Abstract

Companies use scientific knowledge generated by universities in technology and product development (Agrawal and Henderson, 2002; Cohen, Nelson and Walsh, 2002). On the other hand, it has been reported that there is a virtuous cycle (Zucker and Darby, 2007) in which collaborative research improves the research performance of universities, but the specific mechanism has not been clarified. In this report, the joint research between Keio University and the university-based venture company Spiber was taken up as an example. As a result of the joint research program, excellent academic papers and databases were created, and material development of innovative materials was realized. The following three factors can produce results in joint research involving industry and academia. The first factor is to acquire the information necessary for commercialization and embody the technical issues, and to establish research topics that are compatible with technical issues. The second factor is to separate deliverables published as papers and deliverables patented by companies. The third factor is that companies send professional human resources to university research.