The strength of social ties in the literature of university-industry linkages: review and research agenda

Abstract

Even though the assessment of the processes underlying Public Research Organizations and Industry (PRO-I) linkages suggested that interpersonal relationships are crucial for knowledge transfer and for the establishment of successful cooperative activities, only few studies have adopted a social network perspective to analyse the link between the characteristics of social ties and specific aspects of PRO-I interactions. Based on this gap, the aim of this article is to understand more deeply the relationship between one key characteristics of social ties - the strength of ties - and the knowledge transfer processes in PRO-I linkages context. In order to achieve this, a detailed analysis of articles published between 1996 and 2016 in academic journals in the area of PRO – I relations was performed. The analysis suggests that adopting a perspective that takes into account the social, relational and historical nature of linking processes is essential to develop more effective policies that improve the results of PRO-I linkages. This is particularly relevant in the context of Latin America, where informal networks are widely expanded, and where the general perception among PROs and industry actors is that there is a mismatch in their capabilities, motivations, and expectations in forming knowledge linkages, which leads to wonder if the relationship is Worthwhile.