International University-University Technology Transfer as Strategic Alliances

Universities are increasingly engaged in technology transfer and innovation internationally. While a significant effort has been made to study university-industry technology transfer, no such effort is made in a university-university context. We address this literature gap by building a framework on international university-university technology transfer and confronting this framework with strategic management concepts. The international context is of importance as differences in cultures, stakeholders, expectations, economic objectives, and time horizons impede the management of international strategic alliances. We approach our framework from a strategic alliance perspective, as strategic alliances have become fundamental instruments to transfer technologies across countries. We apply our framework to China, which aims to transform itself to an innovation-based country. Our study allows drawing implications for universities on the logical entry mode and pathway of engagement in international technology transfer between universities. We find that in the Chinese case, an inverse logic applies on the entry mode and pathway of international university-university technology transfer.