Impact of Institution Factors to University-Industry Knowledge Exchange: A Study Based on Sri Lankan University System

Abstract

Purpose: The study explored the impact of institutional factors have on the university-industry knowledge exchange based on the Sri Lankan university system.
 Methodology: The study is quantitative and explanatory by nature and it applied the deductive method and questionnaire survey strategy. The study conducted with minimum interference of researcher and individual academics is the unit of analysis. The types of knowledge interaction, university-industry knowledge exchange, and institutional factors were the independent, dependent and moderating variables respectively. A Structural Equation Model is deployed on collected data to explore the moderating impact of the institutional factor on the university-industry knowledge exchange.
 Implications: It implies that the level of joint, contract research activities, human resource mobility, and training of academic staff are largely wider on the conducive environment and sophisticated facilities of the university.
 Main Findings: First, study evidence that there are statistically significant impacts of type of interactions and institutional factors on university-industry knowledge exchange. Further, the study confirmed the moderating power of institutional factors over the knowledge exchange process.
 Novelty: There is a lack of research literature discussing the moderating effect of institutional factors on the university-industry knowledge exchange process.

Contribution of academics to university–industry knowledge exchange: A study of open innovation in Sri Lankan universities

“…Human resource mobility is a means of exchange that encourages a continuous flow of knowledge, skills and expertise between the organizations involved (Kondo, 2011). Training can be a means of enhancing the strategic competencies of employees who may learn useful skills from on-the-job training but need external support to develop the critical thinking, analytical and reflective skills that are essential in the contemporary business world (Garrick et al, 2003; Weerasinghe and Dedunu, 2019).…”