Direct and mediated ties to universities: "Scientific" absorptive capacity and innovation performance of pharmaceutical firms

R.A. Belderbos*, V. Gilsing, S. Suzuki

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

308 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Extant literature on firm-university collaboration has emphasized two different strategies that firms in science-based industries adopt to source scientific knowledge and expertise. On one hand, firms engage in direct research collaborations with universities. On the other hand, firms establish indirect, mediated, ties to universities by engaging in research collaborations with dedicated biotech firms that are themselves strongly linked to universitieswith the dedicated biotech firm taking the role of broker. We argue that the relative benefits of direct and mediated ties depend on the extent to which firms have organized their research and development to facilitate the absorption, assimilation, transformation, and exploitation of scientific knowledge, which we coin scientific absorptive capacity. Drawing on patent and publication data in a panel of 33 vertically integrated pharmaceutical firms, we find that direct university collaboration is more beneficial for firms with relatively high scientific absorptive capacity, while only mediated ties are associated with greater innovative performance for firms with relatively low scientific absorptive capacity. The latter association is reduced if the mediated ties are with top universities. Our findings are suggestive of the importance of a fit between the nature of a firm's research and development organization and its strategy to access scientific knowledge.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)32-52
Number of pages21
JournalStrategic Organization
Volume14
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2016

Keywords

  • alliance portfolios
  • industry-science linkages
  • R&D collaboration
  • scientific absorptive capacity
  • RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT
  • INTERORGANIZATIONAL COLLABORATION
  • STRATEGIC ORGANIZATION
  • BIOTECHNOLOGY FIRMS
  • NETWORK DYNAMICS
  • SOCIAL-STRUCTURE
  • INDUSTRY
  • KNOWLEDGE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • SCIENCE

Cite this