An analysis of the effects of the characteristics of research groups on their interactions with firms

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to analyse how the characteristics of academic research groups affect their interactions with firms. Using data from a survey conducted in Brazilian research groups, an empirical model was estimated to evaluate how the characteristics of the research groups impact their interactions with firms. Main results show that research groups with higher academic performance, larger research groups and groups affiliated with larger departments tend to present higher numbers of interactions. Furthermore, engineering and agricultural sciences research groups interact more. Given these findings, the main contribution of the paper is that it furthers understanding of the factors that shape university–industry linkages and how characteristics of research groups affect interactions