Commercialisation Tools in Network Research Organisations

The paper aims to identify which commercialisation tools (CT) are employed in network research organisations as exemplified by the Łukasiewicz Research Network, Poland. The authors analyse the state of the art by studying publications in the Web of Science database and present a longitudinal case study. The commercialisation tools identified as a result of the literature review are classified according to an original approach proposed by the authors. Then, the proposed classification is applied to indicate the commercialisation tools used in the Łukasiewicz Research Network, one of the largest recognised research networks in Europe. A longitudinal single case study is used. The data is analysed at two points in time, i.e., for periods before and after the establishment of the Łukasiewicz Research Network. Namely, the tools used by individual research institutes before and after their inclusion in the network as well as the joint use of tools by the institutes making up the network are examined. The presentation is followed by a discussion of the contexts of applying commercialisation tools in the network organisation and individual institutes. Suggested future research includes analyses of the relationship between the use of specific commercialisation tools and commercialisation effectiveness measured by means of a set of commercialisation performance indicators.