The third mission : Enhancing academic engagement with industry

Abstract

There is an ongoing debate in the literature about a “third mission” for universities. Examples of successful academic spin-offs have led to a widespread policy of encouraging collaboration between the academic and commercial worlds. However, the commercialization of research-based innovations often suggests a conflict of interest to academics. In this study we explore what types of knowledge spillover are preferable for academics and how universities can support them. Analysing a survey of 226 academics in a medium-sized university in Norway, we found that supporting the entrepreneurial knowledge and skills of academics might cause a modest increase in their entrepreneurial intentions. At the same time, we found that incentives for joint research projects with industrial partners enhance academics’ desire to take part in such collaborations. We conclude by questioning the well-publicized policy efforts focused on boosting academic start-ups. We argue that more knowledge about starting and running a business would be helpful, but only for a small number of academics who are already interested in such activities. To enhance broader academic involvement in the “third mission”, policies should encourage a wider range of activities and focus on providing incentives, such as tax regimes or co-funding possibilities, for other types of research-industry collaboration, such as joint research projects.