Technology Transfer: replacing universities with private organizations

Abstract

The economic literature on the Technology Transfer process has mainly focused on the university, as repository and distributor of knowledge. Today, however, this institution can be effectively substituted by various forms of private and publicly-funded organizations, especially for applied research. Therefore, there is a need for determining if, and how, the previous knowledge gained on the University-Industry Technology Transfer process can be applied also to private entities. This work aims to provide, initially, a review of the literature surrounding the phenomenon, with a specific focus on four different variables: involved actors, transfer channels, processes and mechanisms, governance and policy. Later, will be described various theoretical differences emerging when the University is substitute by a private organization, to inductively determine how peculiarities of these institutions may influence the process. Lastly, these theoretical differences will be tested against a case study, the Bruno Kessler Foundation, to confirm or refuse the hypothesis.