The contribution of research institutes in eureka projects

Abstract

Technological cooperation between industrial firms and research institutes is studied at the project level. The various forms of cooperation, and the instances in which they are advantageous, are discussed. The authors then focus on situations in which the research institute acts as 'knowledge supplier'. Three levels of 'research intensity' are distinguished, depending on the involvement of research institutes. Six hypotheses are formulated about the relationship between research intensity and strategy and innovation attributes in two technological areas: environmental technology, and robotics and production automation. Empirical data are taken from 230 projects in the European technology initiative EUREKA. A content analysis was performed on project descriptions. Our major finding is that the nature of the envisaged exploitation of an innovation accounts for differences in research institute participation.