Industrializing academic knowledge in Taiwan: the attitudes of Taiwan's universities toward transferring and commercializing academic knowledge have shifted to a more "scientific-economic" orientation since new legislation was enacted in 1999, a survey reveals

OVERVIEW: How to effectively utilize and leverage academic knowledge has become a concern for university leaders and faculty, firms and policymakers alike. A questionnaire survey of 122 Taiwanese universities confirms that the "cognitive-governance" orientation of universities has gradually shifted from the "scientific-government" to a more "scientific-economic" one since the Science and Technology Basic Law was enacted in 1999. For Taiwanese universities, intellectual property infrastructure build-up, patenting and licensing activities have been steadily enhanced. The survey also reveals that the transfer of knowledge from universities to industry is largely dependent on short-term, personal and contract-based mechanisms, rather than on long-term, formal organizational, and joint capability development mechanisms. These conclusions have managerial and policy implications for capitalizing academic knowledge, not only in Taiwan but in other economies as well. KEY CONCEPTS: research commercialization, university patenting and licensing, academic entrepreneurship.