From Physics to Daily Life

13Universities and Corporations: The Case of Switzerland

Spyros Arvanitis and Martin Woerter

In this study, Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) between academic institutions and the business sector is understood to be any activities aimed at transferring knowledge or technology that may help either the company or the academic institute – depending on the direction of transfer – to further pursue its activities. The information is derived from comprehensive surveys amongst representative samples of: (i) Swiss enterprises; and (ii) departments and institutes of Swiss institutions of research and high education in the years 2005 and 2011, respectively. The descriptive analysis covers detailed information about who is undertaking KTT with whom; which channels/forms and services of mediating institutions are frequently used; what is the main motivation for KTT activities; and what are the obstacles for KTT from both sides of transfer. In the more analytical section, which is based on econometric analysis, important driving factors for KTT activities are identified, both from the points of view of the firms and of the science institutions, to: (i) investigate the relevance of KTT activities for firm innovation performance and labour productivity, respectively; (ii) study the relationship between KTT activities and technological proximity of firms and universities; (iii) identify factors that may influence a firm's decision in favour of either exploration or exploitation of knowledge; ...