The challenge of breaking the academia-business firewall in Czechia: comparing the role of differentiated knowledge bases in collaborative R&D projects
Abstract
Contemporary innovation processes increasingly involve a large number of networked actors, and cross-fertilization between knowledge institutions and firms has thus become a significant driver for innovation. Important insights into the differing nature of research and development (R&D) collaboration in particular sectors have been provided by research inspired by the knowledge-base approach embedded within innovation system (IS) theory.
This study aims to contribute to this body of literature by applying the concept of differentiated knowledge bases to the former state-socialist countries, where the IS operates through a firewall between academia and industry. Data on collaborative R&D projects co-financed by public resources have allowed a detailed analysis of the nature of collaboration networks, revealing emerging patterns of academia-industry linkages and questioning the propositions stemming from the knowledge-based approach.
The study concludes that collaborative science-industry networks show a very distinct topography when analytical and synthetic knowledge is compared.