University-Industry Links in Slovakia: What are the Factors Underlying the Number of Interactions with Industry?

Abstract

Purpose: The main aim of the paper is to investigate the determinants of university-industry links, considering the number of contracts with industry as an output variable. Also, the spatial dimension of contracts is examined, explaining to what extent U-I cooperation is anchored regionally or nationally. Methodology/Approach: The paper uses a unique dataset comprising 1,158 contracts with industry at the 25 faculties belonging to five technical universities in Slovakia. Negative binomial regression analysis is used to evaluate the determinants for academic engagement in contract research. Findings: Empirical findings reveal the impact of the factors such as age, personnel structure, the intensity of supervising and experience in research projects financed by public authorities, mattering more than patenting or teaching intensity in the propensity of researchers to engage with industry. Research Limitation/implication: The outcomes only concern technical universities in Slovakia, and there is still room for analysis of other faculties comprising other subject areas. Since there is no longer time series data, the 2014-2016 timeframe did not permit to explore additional contexts in the model. Originality/Value of paper: Foremost, this is the first attempt to investigate the relationship between different factors and the level of contract research in Slovakia, making several contributions to the existing literature.

Keywords

• university’s third mission
• contract research
• technology transfer
• university-industry links