TY - JOUR

T1 - University satellite institutes as exogenous facilitators of technology transfer ecosystem development

AU - Conlé, Marcus

AU - Kroll, Henning

AU - Storz, Cornelia

AU - ten Brink, Tobias

N1 - Funding Information: The authors wish to thank their colleagues Haixiong Qiu, Qing Qiu, Karl Wu, and Yutu Yang from the Institute for Reform and Development of Pearl River Delta at Sun Yat-sen University for their cooperation and support during field research. They also gratefully acknowledge the assistance, comments, and suggestions of Egbert Amoncio, Fei Wang, Rainer Frietsch, Ingo Liefner, Sibei Lin, Yixin Liu, Boy Lüthje, Kazuyuki Motohashi, Yanbo Wang, Wei Zhao, and Na Zou. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG (Grant Numbers: TE 1069/5-1, TE 1069/5-2; STO 860/8-1, STO 860/8-2; further conceptual work on the manuscript: KR 4895/2). Funding Information: Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG (Grant Numbers: TE 1069/5-1, TE 1069/5-2; STO 860/8-1, STO 860/8-2; further conceptual work on the manuscript: KR 4895/2).

PY - 2023/2

Y1 - 2023/2

N2 - Universities can contribute to knowledge-based regional development not only in their home region but also in other regions. In a number of countries, universities have established university satellite institutes in additional (host) regions to promote research and technology transfer there. We investigate the role of university satellite institutes in the industrial development of regions, which, albeit not economically marginal, suffer from a weak knowledge infrastructure, limited absorptive capacities for external knowledge in the business sector and hence a low degree of attractiveness for non-local knowledge actors. Despite policy recommendations in favor of establishing satellite institutes, there has only been limited empirical research on this phenomenon, particularly concerning technology transfer ecosystem development. To fill this gap, we provide an exploratory case study of university satellite institutes in the Pearl River Delta of China’s Guangdong province. We show how such institutes can be successful in facilitating the development of their host region’s technology transfer ecosystems and demonstrate why they should be conceptually included in our existing understanding of third mission activities. Our research centers on the interplay of geographical proximity and non-spatial, organized proximity in the development of interregional knowledge bridges and entrepreneurial opportunities. We argue that the university’s geographical proximity is only successful if the satellite institute, by facilitating organized proximity, promotes the geographical proximity of further knowledge actors, hereby propelling ecosystem development.

AB - Universities can contribute to knowledge-based regional development not only in their home region but also in other regions. In a number of countries, universities have established university satellite institutes in additional (host) regions to promote research and technology transfer there. We investigate the role of university satellite institutes in the industrial development of regions, which, albeit not economically marginal, suffer from a weak knowledge infrastructure, limited absorptive capacities for external knowledge in the business sector and hence a low degree of attractiveness for non-local knowledge actors. Despite policy recommendations in favor of establishing satellite institutes, there has only been limited empirical research on this phenomenon, particularly concerning technology transfer ecosystem development. To fill this gap, we provide an exploratory case study of university satellite institutes in the Pearl River Delta of China’s Guangdong province. We show how such institutes can be successful in facilitating the development of their host region’s technology transfer ecosystems and demonstrate why they should be conceptually included in our existing understanding of third mission activities. Our research centers on the interplay of geographical proximity and non-spatial, organized proximity in the development of interregional knowledge bridges and entrepreneurial opportunities. We argue that the university’s geographical proximity is only successful if the satellite institute, by facilitating organized proximity, promotes the geographical proximity of further knowledge actors, hereby propelling ecosystem development.

KW - China

KW - Ecosystems

KW - Innovation intermediaries

KW - Peripheral regions

KW - University technology transfer

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120539025&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10961-021-09909-7

DO - 10.1007/s10961-021-09909-7

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85120539025

VL - 48

SP - 147

EP - 180

JO - Journal of Technology Transfer

JF - Journal of Technology Transfer

SN - 0892-9912

IS - 1

ER -