Technology transfer between universities and the U.K. offshore industry

When developing new technology, organizations either engage in in-house research and development, acquire the technology from an exernal source, or indeed use a combination of both approaches. This paper examines the acquisition of technology with specific reference to the U.K. offshore industry and its attempts to use university research results as one input to its new product development effort. Three main issues are examined: i) the circumstances precipitating companies to use universities as a source of R & D capability, ii) the barriers impeding the transfer of technology from universities to industry, and iii) alternative ways of overcoming such barriers. Results are based on personal interviews conducted with twenty companies of various types and sizes actively involved in the offshore industry. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that there are a variety of circumstances which precipitate companies to tap the R & D capability of the academic sector. Moreover, it appears that the original circumstances leading to collaboration affect the type of project carried out and the type of industry commitment given in such projects. For example, if a company approaches a university because of lack of in-house R&D capability, it is more likely that the project will involve development work rather than fundamental research. Three main types of barriers to industry — university collaboration were found and alternative means of overcoming these barriers are considered.