Open innovation: A technology transfer alternative from universities. A systematic literature review

Abstract

This article presents a study that analyzes open innovation and its contribution to technology transfer processes in universities, addressing as key questions: What elements or factors of open innovation contribute to the performance of technology transfer in universities? What could be the role of open innovation in the technology transfer process of universities? The study was conducted from a systematic literature review in the Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink databases on 95 peer-reviewed articles selected from the last 20 years. From an exploratory approach, the critical analysis of the state of knowledge permitted the identification of the 36 factors of open innovation contributing to the performance of technology transfer in universities, from knowledge management and innovation, resources, and capabilities, R&D management with universities, and the university-industry relationship. According to the findings and success cases, open innovation from the use of internal and external knowledge boosts R&D+i projects, encouraging universities to keep close relations with actors from regional innovation systems, contributing positively to the performance of technology transfer in institutions and stimulating the commercialization of the developments generated from research. In the future, we propose delving into outbound open innovation, its systematization, contribution, and impact on university technology transfer processes.

Keywords

• Knowledge flow
• Outbound open innovation
• Higher education institutions
• Research and development
• Technology transfer
• Entrepreneurial university