Purpose – This paper presents the preliminary results of a research aimed at mapping the knowledge interactions between universities and industries in Southern Italy. We focused on a specific type of knowledge interactions, namely “research services”, that are activities that firms give to universities and that are regulated by specific contracts establishing objectives, deliverables and available financial resources. They include both research contracts and consulting activities. Despite the fact that research services, especially in technological departments, cover a significant percentage of the research funding in universities and results of these activities are also useful for the firms, allowing them to solve specific technological problems, scarce attention has been reserved to them by researchers. Design/methodology/approach – Research services are characterized by high relational involvement of the parties, which strongly collaborate over more limited period of time if compared to other knowledge interaction types. To study this phenomenon, we adopted case studies approach. Two big Italian universities were the focus of our research. Main aim was the analysis and comparison of different recent “research services” activities carried out in the last two years. In the first phase of this explorative research, researchers from engineering department from University of Naples Federico II and from Politecnico of Bari and entrepreneurs that interacted with those researchers were interviewed. In the second phase, a cross-case analysis was developed, aimed at identifying recurring categories of data in all the analyzed case studies, namely variables affecting interactions positively, from the researchers’ and firm’s standpoints; and suggestions to facilitate the diffusion of research service initiatives between universities and firms, as expressed by firms and researchers. Originality/value – This methodology puts in evidence some interesting elements that can contribute to the success and growth of knowledge interactions between firms and universities. Practical implications – The outcomes of the analysis provide some managerial implications that can be useful for agencies supporting the innovation diffusion among firms and firms systems, for defining new policies and action plants aimed at making the knowledge interaction faster and more effective and therefore improve the innovation processes within firms.
Keywords – Knowledge interactions, University-industry relations