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Facilitating public-to-private technology transfer through consortia: initial evidence from Korea

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Abstract

Korean public research institutes (PRIs) are experimenting with a consortia approach for promoting public-to-private technology transfer. This research examines the effectiveness of five regional technology transfer consortia operating in Korea from 2002 to 2006 and explores their characteristics including motivations, facilitators, barriers, and challenges. The paper reports both quantitative and qualitative evidence. Archival and survey data were collected on the effectiveness and characteristics of the technology transfer consortia. The proposition was supported that membership in these consortia can enhance the technology transfer performance of participating PRIs. Reasons on how consortia increase PRI performance are discussed and four key drivers are seen as being critical to increasing the effectiveness of consortia. Conclusions focus on lessons learned for policy makers, PRIs, and consortia.

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Notes

  1. Public-to-private technology transfer focuses on public research institutes as technology producers and private firms as technology users.

  2. Glenn Doell presented ‘Technology Transfer in Smaller Research Institutions’ at the ‘Creating Pennsylvania’s Future: A Higher-Education Economic and Community Development Summit’ held at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in University Park, Pennsylvania during December 5–6, 2005.

  3. Ashley J. Stevens presented ‘Do Most Academic Institutions Lose Money on Technology Transfer?’ at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Technology Transfer Society held at The Kauffman Foundation Legacy Park in Kansas City, Missouri during September 28–30, 2005.

  4. The Korean National Science & Technology Council whose chairman is the president assesses and analyzes all the government-sponsored R&D programs every year.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD) (KRF-2006-352-H00001). We also thank IC2 Institute, the University of Texas at Austin for providing resident visiting scholar and collegial support for this research and manuscript writing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, 66 Hoegiro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 130-742, Korea

    Jong-Bok Park

  2. Korea Institute of Intellectual Property, 16F, 647-9 Yeoksam-Dong, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul, 135-980, Korea

    Tae-Kyu Ryu

  3. IC2 Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, 2815 San Gabriel, Austin, TX, 78705, USA

    David V. Gibson

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  1. Jong-Bok Park
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  2. Tae-Kyu Ryu
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  3. David V. Gibson
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Correspondence to Jong-Bok Park.

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Park, JB., Ryu, TK. & Gibson, D.V. Facilitating public-to-private technology transfer through consortia: initial evidence from Korea. J Technol Transf 35, 237–252 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-009-9118-2

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