Academic engagement in Brazilian university laboratories

Abstract

In this study, we add new evidence to the literature by investigating how individual and organizational attributes relate to the intensity of academic engagement (AE) in university research laboratories. AE relies on the adoption of mechanisms of interaction between academia and the business sector, facilitating knowledge exchange and collaboration for mutual benefits. The individual attributes of laboratory coordinators corresponded to gender, academic rank, and nonacademic experience. Organizational attributes were proxied by the scale of laboratory research resources, their competence to establish links with industry, and perceived institutional support. From a sample of 240 Brazilian university laboratories, we defined a typology to discriminate laboratories in terms of the intensity with which they practice multiple AE activities. We then investigated differences in the mean vectors of variables representing individual and organizational attributes across laboratories with distinct levels of AE. The results indicated that at the individual level, only the gender of the lab heads showed an association with the intensity of AE. Compared to laboratories with minimal involvement in AE activities, the intensely engaged ones showed higher means for the number of permanent researchers, staff size, and capital stock. Among the highly engaged laboratories, we found a predominance of those with competence to prospect and attract industrial partners and those who received sufficient support from the departments to facilitate collaboration with industry. Idiosyncrasies related to the Brazilian context are discussed in light of new insights typical of a developing country.