How do firms shape their interactions with universities to build structural, human and relational capital? A mixed-method study of UK firms that interact with universities

Universities are considered a key source of external resources for firms. Firms’ choices regarding the form of collaboration and how potential universities are approached, strongly influence how their partnerships with universities develop and succeed. We investigate how firms’ objectives to build three types of intellectual capital influence their prevalent mode of entering into interactions with universities. Building on a survey of 190 UK-based firms, we make an original contribution by demonstrating positive associations between: (A) structural capital-building objectives (i.e. sourcing resources and technologies required for research and development), and institutional mode of entry (i.e. directly contacting institutions of the university), mediated by the perceived functionality of acquisition channels (i.e. unidirectional transfer of resources from universities to firms); (B) relational capital-building (i.e. improving visibility and reputation), and the perceived functionality of co-creation channels (i.e. close working relationship between universities and firms), which in turn is positively associated with the frequency of use of individual modes of entry (i.e. directly contacting academics); (C) human capital-building (i.e. sourcing knowledge and associated networks) and both institutional and individual modes, mediated by the perceived functionality of, respectively, acquisition and co-creation channels (the latter when the firm intends to build new human capital, the former when it intends to exploit existing capital);. Our findings offer practical implications regarding how firms enter into relationships with universities depending on the firms’ objectives.