Book Review: Handbook of Technology Transfer

Split into four distinct parts, this insightful handbook fully examines each of these dimensions and the roles that each of them plays in technology transfer, highlighting university institutions in Europe and North America in particular. Forward-thinking, it also delves into future innovation implementation in emerging economies where resources are limited, and the challenges faced as a result.

Part 1, ” Knowledge Transfer”, includes Chapter 1 through Chapter 3. The first chapter takes the form of an interpretative essay based on the large body of work on technology transfer, in an attempt to elaborate an economic theory of technology transfer to add to the rich literature on the specific mechanisms that enable advanced economic systems (Audretsch, Lehmann & Wright, 2014). It develops the notion of the limited transferability of knowledge, building on analysis of the competences required to use economic goods in general and knowledge as a particular economic good. It analyses the effects of the limited transferability of knowledge on its appropriability, on the economic influence of knowledge spillovers, on the tradability of knowledge and on its recombinant production, exploiting the notion of Jacobs increasing returns to variety.

Knowledge is generally perceived as a key resource that may ultimately contribute to economic growth. Although knowledge creation constitutes the prerequisite for innovation processes and subsequent economic activities, the underlying mechanisms thereof are not well understood. Whereas the linear model of innovation posits a unidirectional sequence of basic and applied research, current research shows that a fuller model of innovation is needed that considers the cross-fertilization of basic and applied research. The purpose of Chapter 2 is to conceptualize a theoretical model of regional innovation output, taking into account the knowledge flows from basic to applied research and vice versa (Zheng & Bao, 2022). This chapter thereby emphasizes the role of the government as an enabler and facilitator of knowledge creation and diffusion. Ideally, basic and applied research funding would act synergistically in the production of regional innovation output. This chapter contributes to our understanding of the optimal mix of basic research funding and applied research funding and provides the basis for empirical investigations. It thereby addresses the question how to make best use of basic and applied research resources and derives implications for science and innovation policy.

Research on the role of public finance, knowledge transfer, and firm productivity in their ability to innovate responds to the rapidly growing interest in the subject. Chapter 3 builds and estimates a theoretical model using 17,859 innovative firms in the United Kingdom to demonstrate the extent that various sources of external knowledge contribute to a firm's innovation and the role of access to finance for innovation (Latifi, Nikou & Bouwman, 2021). While access to finance may limit innovation, in particular in the most productive firms, it is public finance that bestows knowledge transfer to firm innovation.

Part 2, ” Individuals”, includes Chapter 4 through Chapter 6. Scientists in the principal investigator (PI) role are at the heart of knowledge creation and management within innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems. The original knowledge they create through knowledge discovery forms the basis for technology transfer and commercialization activities. There has been a growing empirical focus on different aspects of the PI role and how scientists in the role purse knowledge creation and exploitation. However, to date there has been no research and empirical attention on how principal investigators approach knowledge management. The purpose of Chapter 4 is to address this deficit and to present a micro foundation conceptual framework that focuses on exploration and exploitation knowledge domain focus and know-how, opportunity and environmental scanning and knowledge management practices (Christofi, Vrontis & Cadogan, 2021).