A study of cross-sector research collaboration between university-industry in Thailand : a case study of Kasetsart University

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the components and relationships of the factors affecting the effectiveness of cross-sector collaboration in research between universities and industry by integrating the concepts of inter-organizational relationships (IOR), the resource dependency theory (RDT) and social capital. A mixed methods research design was used in the research methodology.

The purpose of the qualitative research was to understand the context of the organization by using an in-depth interview. Key informants were interviewed by using a semi-structured interview.

For the quantitative research, a content validity test was used before conducting the questionnaires by examining the content validity with the Index of Item - Objective Congruence (IOC). Following this, the questionnaire was distributed to 236 faculty members and researchers at Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand and 189 project coordinators of private companies that used to collaborate with Kasetsart University. A total of 159 university respondents and 79 industrial sector respondents returned the questionnaires. Then, the questionnaires were checked using the Mahalanobis distance (D2) to search for outliers, skewness and kurtosis to find the normality. For the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the organizational characteristic was the only variable in the EFA because the variable was derived from the interviews. Path analysis was then used to answer the research hypotheses, including the direct, indirect and total effect of each factor that affected the collaborative effectiveness.

The study found that critical factors affecting the effectiveness of the collaboration included 1) resources reciprocity, 2) social capital, 3) shared governance, and 4) organizational characteristics.

For the analysis of the relationship between the components, it was found that the total influence on the effectiveness of resource reciprocity = 0.601, shared governance management mechanism = 0.502, social capital = 0.285 and organizational characteristics = 0.062. The resources reciprocity had both a direct and indirect effect on the collaboration effectiveness through social capital and shared governance. In addition, the organizational characteristics only had an indirect effect on the collaboration effectiveness through social capital and shared governance as well. In other words, social capital and shared governance are full mediators between the organizational characteristics and collaboration effectiveness. Therefore, the organizational characteristics and resources reciprocity alone do not guarantee the effectiveness of the collaboration. Cross-sector research collaborations between universities and industry should emphasize the process dimension in terms of the relationship and shared governance that would help to transfer the university's knowledge to industry to be more effective.

For the policy recommendations, the government should support long-term research cooperation by acting as a motivator, supporter and facilitator; such as, tax deductions for industry, allocating budget for universities, and organizing innovation showcases. For practical suggestions, universities and industry should create a network for social capital by focusing on participation between the two organizations and expanding knowledge exchange channels; such as, not only exchanging tangible resources, but also exchanging employees in order to transfer better knowledge. In addition, public or state-owned universities should amend their regulations and establish a coordination department that has expertise in juristic contracts to facilitate collaboration.

Keyword: Cross-sector collaboration, Inter-organizational relations, Resource dependence theory, Social capital