ABSTRACT
Two positions dominate the discussion of university-industry interaction. The first is a search for means to promote interaction that is characterised by policy, legal, and institutional initiatives (Brett et al. 1991; Carboni 1992). This positive position implicitly and explicitly expresses a desire to use societal resources for business use and economic development. Indeed, some consider the failure to make a connection between universities and industry to be a squandering of national resources and indicative of falling behind in the innovation race (Fortier 1999). Obversely, the second position questions the societal costs and benefits of compromising the university’s role as an independent third party and free disseminator of information for the benefit of private purposes (Bowie 1994; Feller 1990). In between these two viewpoints, a third examines the types, extent, and impact of university-industry collaboration (Cohen et al. 1994; Rosenberg and Nelson 1994). We contribute to this literature by examining how these positions are linked through a governance system.
