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This paper finds that vast disparities exist in new technology commercialisation outputs between a small percentage of high performing universities, and the remaining bulk of under-performers. Theoretical explanations for these findings are as follows. First, high performing universities attract resources, both human and financial, with a much stronger pull than lower performing universities. Second, this study confronts a gap in the literature with regard to the prominence of entrepreneurship within the innovation and technology development process. Third, this study brings new light to bear on the reliability and validity of evaluative tools (variables) currently accepted as indicators of innovation in the university technology transfer context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research and innovation are fundamental for success and even survival of organisations worldwide and are increasingly outsourced to specialised research institutions. Nevertheless, marketing academics and practitioners have so far neglected science as a marketable service and/or product. This paper aims at filling this gap by examining the expectations and performance evaluations of research customers and providers. First, a telephone survey of research customers is reported and an overall satisfaction level with research providers is discussed. Various criteria are examined in relation to the customer's expectations and perceptions of the research provider's performance. Second, a telephone survey with research providers in Germany and some leading European countries is reported, examining the provider's view on customer expectations and performance assessments. The paper identifies key factors of customer demand and explores performance evaluations. It concludes with recommendations for academics and practitioners concerning research marketing and commercialisation as well as suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basis of product and technological development in the Small-and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) is that there is at least to some extent an obvious market need when the development theme is set. Taking up the case of RF SYSTEM Lab, an SME established in Nagano Prefecture in 1993, this paper analyses its product innovation and market strategy. RF SYSTEM Lab is a venture company which designs, develops and manufactures wireless Charge Couple Device (CCD) cameras. RF SYSTEM Lab is an enterprise that accounts for 85% of the global market in the cordless dental mouth camera. The enterprise has established an approach to product innovation and commercialisation in a typical SME, and has unique sales strategies. In this paper, the importance of core-technology-centred development in SMEs and the process of actualising ideas will also be clarified, and the success factors will be proposed in a summary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research commercialisation and technology transfer have become buzzwords in today's scientific and business community, with research suppliers, customers and policymakers spending increasing amounts of resources on achieving commercialisation success. Given a lack of research on university-industry relationships, this paper uses established knowledge in the relationship marketing area, traditionally focused on relationships between private sector enterprises, and extends its application to the analysis and management of science-to-business linkages. Based on a qualitative exploratory study on science-to-business linkages in Australia, a survey was conducted showing a positive effect of academics' engagement on the market orientation of their research group, which in turn positively influenced the industry partner's commitment. Interestingly, while a research group's market orientation was expected to influence the industry partner's trust, the analysis revealed the reverse effect. Furthermore, the study confirmed the relations between the industry partner's trust, commitment, communication and satisfaction. The paper concludes with managerial implications, limitations and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emphasis of this article is on approaches to service-related science-to-business collaborations. We show the experiences of three international consulting firms - Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, Siemens Business Services and IBM - in terms of service-related science-to-business collaborations. Based on these experiences, we identify several existing deficiencies in service-related science-to-business collaborations such as highly personalised organisation forms, divergent incentive systems, cultural barriers, and different time horizons. Furthermore, we describe requirements of service-related science-to-business collaborations, which can be structured into requirements based on aspects of content, and requirements based on aspects of structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The way in which companies, research centres and educational institutions are organised and structured may provide a competitive advantage for commercialisation, in particular if companies are dependent on the deployment of complementary assets and capabilities by third parties. This paper presents the case of the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG), a private agricultural biotechnology (agbiotech) company specialising in early stage Research and Development (R&D) to produce superior adapted cereal varieties, tolerant to abiotic stress conditions such as drought, frost, salt, or mineral toxicity, all of which have a direct and negative impact on plant growth and crop productivity. The organisational structure of the company has been influenced and shaped by Government policy, shareholders expectations and trends in the agbiotech industrial organisation. It has proved attractive to potential alliance partners for collaborative R&D and commercialisation. We present the ACPFG as a new business model to fund basic research and facilitate technology transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the abstract of the research "Sources of Information Used in Technology Planning in the Upstream Environment of the Electronics Industry," by Bruce A. Vojak and Carlos A. Suarez-Nunez. A survey has been conducted to identify and characterise the frequently used practices regarding the sources of information used in technology planning in the electronics industry. Both geographic and organisational level demographic differences were observed.