Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss the influence of university research management on institutional competitiveness, international visibility and fund-raising. Design/methodology/approach - The research findings are based on analysis of leading universities in six European countries: Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Czech Republic, Finland, The Netherlands and Germany. For the analysis, two criteria are chosen - institutional way of work and core partnerships. This summary is compared with theoretical background for innovative research management and the conclusion is made that these two issues are much in line. Findings - The findings suggest that majority, of leading universities in the analysed countries actively realize principles of the Triple Helix and Mode 2 Science. This is realized through innovative managerial structures and strong orientation to practical implication of research production. The findings summarise the main forms of institutional work and discuss core partnering issues. Research limitations/implications - A limited number of universities are chosen and data are mainly collected from secondary sources such as institutional documents, web site information or corporate presentations. This is why it is difficult to evaluate how some formal declarations are realized in practice. Practical implications - The findings may serve as a framework for considering changes in university research management structure or seeking increase of institutional competitiveness, international visibility and effective fund-raising Originality/value - The paper compares theoretic discussions on innovative research management through cooperation and specialization with existing practices in leading universities and provides summary and examples universities are taking to increase institutional effectiveness.
