R&D and Innovation Collaboration between Universities and Business—A PLS-SEM Model for the Spanish Province of Huelva

Abstract

In the last decade we have witnessed a growing amount of interest for developing better ‘exchange’ between universities, research centres and technology parks and companies, governments and other institutions. The biggest aim of those projects is, on the one hand, to make sure that valuable research does not stay hidden in the ivory tower of academia, and, on the other, that there are clear indications for what kinds of solutions are needed in the market. Due to the lack of empirical research in the topic, the focus of this paper is to establish and explain which factors determine the demand for technological services and how they can contribute to the promotion of greater university–business collaboration in R&D and innovation. To achieve that goal, we applied the PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling) method in order to create a theoretical model, which was then verified through the application of the CTA (Confirmatory Tetrad Analysis) with the purpose of evaluating whether the specification of the chosen measurement model based on the theoretical rationale was supported by data. The test run was performed on 96 companies from the Spanish region of Huelva. It showed that only four of the considered factors, namely influence of the environment, market conditions, technology adoption decision and economic characteristics of the company, constituted 65.76% of the variance of the endogenous latent Demand for Technological Services. We believe that thanks to the proposed model and its adaptivity, it is possible to design relevant policies and undertakings aimed at promoting the research-business collaboration at the regional, national and international levels.

The Effect of Public Healthcare Expenditure on the Reduction in Mortality Rates Caused by Unhealthy Habits among the Population

“…Moreover, for the cases where this does not occur, they at least exceed the value of 0.4. These values can be maintained if they are not detrimental to composite reliability [ 88 ], as in this model. The reliability of the constructs is satisfied since the composite reliabilities (Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, and the Dijkstra–Henseler rho ratio) are greater than 0.7 [ 67 ].…”

PLS-SEM MODEL ON BUSINESS DEMAND FOR TECHNOLOGICAL SERVICES AND R&D AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES

“…The factors collected in these studies were extrapolated, to study the demand for technological services, proposing 13 latent variables or constructs for the creation of a first study model. These variables are more precisely defined and described in greater detail in García-Machado et al (2021).…”

“…The indicators (represented as yellow squares), the exogenous and endogenous constructs (represented by blue circles), as well as their connections through arrows, are showed in the initial proposed model (Figure 1). Regarding all the indicators that make up the measurement models for all the latent variables, a more detailed description can be found in García-Machado et al (2021). The construct measurement of exogenous and endogenous latent variables included in the theoretical model consisted of both established scales and were based on the work of several scholars.…”

“…The indicators were included in a survey and sent to businesses of different type and size in diverse economic sectors. The model was developed with a sample of 96 businesses from Huelva, Spain (García-Machado et al, 2021). Originally, a databank was arranged from a catalogue composed of 467 companies, from which those that were not in operation were removed (145).…”

“…Due to the limited amount of empirical studies using the PLS-SEM methodology in this topic, the objective of this work on the basis of this approach is to discover and explain which factors, and in which way, determine the demand for technological services, and how they can contribute to the promotion of greater University-Business collaboration in R&D. Based on the works of García-Machado et al (2021) in which the complex initial theoretical model has been developed using PLS-SEM methodology, this paper develops a PLS-SEM model on business demand for technological services and R&D & Innovation activities, examining, and carrying out a Confirmatory Tetrad Analysis (CTA-PLS) in order to have an empirical foundation for modelling measurement models with a sample of companies from the Andalusian region of Huelva, Spain. The business factors that are presented as latent exogenous and endogenous variables that form the basis of this theoretical model are: the economic characteristics of the company, the attitude towards the performance of the technology, the marketing actions, the technological attributes, the perceived usefulness, the perceived ease of use, market conditions, demand for technological services, the decision to adopt technology, the ease of conditions, the behavioural intention towards the adoption of technology, the influence of the environment and the business willingness towards technology adoption.…”