The two faces of collaboration: impacts of university-industry relations on public research

We analyze the impact of university–industry relationships on public research. Our inductive study of university–industry collaboration in engineering suggests that basic projects are more likely to yield academically valuable knowledge than applied projects. However, applied projects show higher degrees of partner interdependence and therefore enable exploratory learning by academics, leading to new ideas and projects. This result holds especially for research-oriented academics working in the “sciences of the artificial” and engaging in multiple relationships with industry. Our learning-centred interpretation qualifies the notion of entrepreneurial science as a driver of applied university–industry collaboration. We conclude with implications for science and technology policy.