Archives
A longitudinal comparative study of university research commercialisation performance: Australia, UK and USA
John Yencken
Research Fellow, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne VIC
Murray Gillin
Emeritus Professor, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne VIC
Abstract
Research commercialisation surveys are now available for Australia for Financial Years (FY) 2000 and 2002. This paper reviews longitudinal comparative data for research commercialisation performance in Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA. It discusses commercialisation performance measures, with a specific focus on entrepreneurial spin-off companies, and performance comparisons are made based on research expenditure in US dollars adjusted for purchasing power parity.
Conclusions from these analyses suggest that , in recent years, Australian public agency performance in generating spin-offs per unit of research expenditure, adjusted for purchasing power parity, has been comparable or superior to some universities in other countries reviewed.
However, Australian university revenue from intellectual property licensing royalties and research contracts has been below that of other countries studied. Analysis suggests that this results from problems in both demand - low business investment in R&D and hence low technology absorptive capacity - and supply, that is lack of time and lack of incentive to academic researchers to develop contacts with and meet the expectations of industry and other research users for technology that works.
Keywords
commercialisation, innovation, intellectual property, research, universities
References
Australian Research Council, CSIRO and National Health and Medical Research Council (2002) National Survey of Research Commercialisation 2000. Canberra: Australian Research Council.
AUTM (1998) AUTM Licensing Survey: FY 1998. Full Report. Northbrook, Association of University Technology Managers Inc.
AUTM (2000) AUTM Licensing Survey: FY 2000. Full Report. Northbrook, Association of University Technology Managers Inc.
Cripps D, Yencken J, Coghlan J and Anderson D (1999) University Research: Technology Transfer and Commercialisation Practices. Commissioned Report No. 60. Canberra: Australian Research Council.
DEST (2004) National Survey of Research Commercialisation. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training.
Etzkowitz H and Leyesdorff S (1997) Universities and the Global Economy: A Triple Helix of University-Industry-Government Relations, London: Pinter.
Harper (2002) Improving our Knowledge and Analysis of Changes in Poverty and Inequality: The International Statistical Architecture. Reserve Bank of Australia: Sydney.
Hindle K and Yencken J (2004) Public Research Commercialisation, Entrepreneurship and New Technology Based Firms: An Integrated Model. Technovation 24: 793-2003.
Howard Partners and Carisgold (2002) Best Practice Processes for University Research Commercialisation. Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Education Science and Training.
Johnston R, Matthews M and Dodgson M (1999) Enabling the Virtuous Cycle. Canberra, Australia: Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs.
Kaplan RS and Norton DP (1993) Balanced Scoreboard Approach. Harvard Business Review 71: 134 ff.
Lankhuizen M (2002) Catching Up, Absorption Capacity and the Organisation of Human Capital: Research Memoranda 017/98. Maastricht: MERIT (Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology).
Livingstone C (2000) Managing the Innovative Global Enterprise: The Warren Centre Innovation Lecture. Sydney: University of Sydney.
OECD (2002) Benchmarking Industry/Science Relationships. Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
OECD (2003) Turning Science into Business: Patenting and Licensing at Public Research Organisations. Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
OECD (2003) About: Purchasing Power Parities (PPP). Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
OECD (2004) Comparative Price Levels. Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
OECD (2004) OECD in Figures: 2004. Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
PMSEIC (2001) Commercialisation of Public Sector Research. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training.
Smailes R, Cooper SY and Keogh W (2002) Supporting university enterprise: the Scottish and US experience, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management 2: 354-372.
UNICO-NUBIS (2002) Annual Unico-Nubs Survey On University Commercialisation Activities: Financial Year 2001. Nottingham: Nottingham University Business School.
Wright M, Vohora A and Lockett A (2002) Annual Unico-Nubs Survey On University Commercialisation Activities: Financial Year 2001. Nottingham University Business School:
Yencken J (2004) Research Commercialisation Barriers, Strategies and Performance Measures for Universities and Other Public Research Providers: An AGSE Research Paper. Melbourne. Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship. Swinburne University of Technology.
Yencken J (2005) An Australian Model for Spin-off Companies in the Commercialisation of University and Other Public Sector Research, Thesis for PhD Degree. Melbourne: Swinburne University of Technology.
Yencken J and Gillin M (2003) Public research agencies as sources for innovations and the entrepreneurial absorptive capacity of manufacturing enterprises. Innovation: Management, Policy & Practice 5: 29-39.
Yencken J and Ralston L (2005) Evaluation of Incentives for Commercialisation of Research in Australian Universities: A survey of selected Australian universities. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training.
Yencken J and Gillin M (2004) Technological Innovation And The Early Stage Development Of New Technology Small Firms: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Capacity And The Opportunity Discovery Process, in John Butler (ed) Opportunity Identification and Entrepreneurial Behavior, Research in Entrepreneurship and Management Vol 4, Greenwich, CT: Information Age Press.
eContent Home