Sustainable Idea Development Mechanism in University Technology Commercialization (UTC): Perspectives from Dynamic Capabilities Framework

• Main Authors: Insu Cho, Young Hoon Kwak, Jaehyeon Jun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-11-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: university technology commercialization; sustainable idea development mechanism; technology transfers; start-ups; dynamic capabilities; longitudinal research
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/21/6156

Universities pays a lot of attention and investment in the technology commercialization for its sustainable development and social contribution under Korean government-driven policies. However, when compared to US or European universities, the outcomes of the technology commercialization in universities are relatively inactive. Therefore, this study aims to propose a new idea-oriented framework of University-Technology Commercialization (UTC). To achieve this, this study explores the sustainable mechanism from idea to technology commercialization in the volatile environment by employing dynamic capabilities framework. This study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to identify causal relationships among the variables with a 2014 to 2016 dataset from ‘Higher Education in KOREA’. This study collected national and cross-sectional data from different time periods to design our longitudinal study. Our study examines UTC activities related to sustainable idea development mechanism from dynamic capability framework. The results show the importance of start-up clubs as a first step for idea exploration in university technology commercialization and patents as important for both technology transfers and start-ups. Our findings offer new UTC directions for university policy makers.