Technology Transfer of Chinese Universities : Forms and Implications
(2003)Abstract
As an important source of knowledge and intellect, research universities play a key role in promoting technological innovation. Two decades ago, this role was exemplified by the publication of cutting-edge research findings. Though significant in the long-term, this contribution is indirect and uncertain. Therefore, in the past 20 years, universities have been expected to contribute to the national economy in a more direct way, i.e., conduct more applied research and make research results available for commercial use. To encourage such a transition, governments of many countries adopted an innovation-oriented science policy. For example, in 1980, the U.S. government passed the Bayh-Dole Act, which allowed American universities to retain titles to inventions that were derived from government funding. Since then the number of patents issued to universities has increased exponentially. Patenting by American universities increased from about 250 per year in the 1970s to over 3000 per year at the end of the century (USPTO 2002). The technology transfer activities of universities have generated considerate license income, created new jobs, and promoted local economies. Given these huge successes, many countries have adopted their versions of Bayh-Dole Act (OECD 2003). China, which is in transition from a planned economy to a market economy, has a very different institutional context and level of economic development from Western countries, where most innovation studies were conducted. Parallel with the economic transition, the national innovation system is also under reform (Liu and White 2001), producing a distinct set of technology transfer mechanisms (Young 1999). These rapid changes offer us a unique opportunity to study the institutionalization of the university’s role in the new national innovation 1 system, thus deepening our understanding of the economics and sociology of innovation and economic development systems. Based on 40 semi-structured interviews conducted in China in 2004, this paper describes how Chinese universities aggressively engage in technology transfer activities and analyzes the implications.