Tension in networks

University–industry collaboration: constructing a business model lab for student venture creation

“…Being embedded in a network might provide opportunities and can also result in tensions and constraints (see, e.g. Gulati et al, 2000;Fang et al, 2011;€ Oberg et al, 2020). These networks can assist in, for example, sharing knowledge, expertise, experience, resources and support.…”

“…These forces can break up relationships and are often the primary causes of aggravation within collaborations. The conflicting notion of tension describes how collaborating actors do not share viewpoints or intentions ( € Oberg et al, 2020); that is, an actor may perceive a tension between the organization's goals and the goal of the cooperation. Tensions in universityÀindustry collaboration are often rooted in different understandings of each other's working practices, uncertainty and opportunistic behavior, which are found to be eased through collaborative experiences, interaction and trust, as developed over time by the actors involved in the collaboration (Hasche et al, 2020).…”

“…Most research on tension has been studied on a relational level of analysis, where few studies move beyond dyadic tension (see, e.g. € Oberg et al, 2020). In this paper, we discuss tensions in a network consisting of university as well as industry actors, where tensions may be present between two actors within the network, between two actors vis-a-vis the third one, among groups of actors or among all parties involved.…”

“…Thus, this paper aims to examine the development of student venture creation in a business model lab initiative with different types of actors involved: students, researchers, TTO and companies. Tension can occur between actors in a network when the motives of individual actors are not realized or when the goals of different actors are difficult to reconcile ( € Oberg et al, 2020). The following research questions are addressed:…”

“…However, network embeddedness of a new venture can also result in tensions (Fang et al, 2011;€ Oberg et al, 2020) as it may result in lock-in as well as lock-out effects, resulting in organizations being trapped in fruitless and uncreative relationships or preventing collaboration with other actors (Gulati et al, 2000). Tensions in universityÀindustry collaborations are often discussed in terms of tensions arising from different institutional logics, that is, an academic logic and a business logic (Steinmo, 2015), where universities and businesses are motivated by different things and are likely to prioritize different goals when collaborating (Ambos et al, 2008).…”