Research Cooperation Between Universities and Local Firms: Comparing University Ecosystems in China and the USA

Abstract The academic research systems of China and the USA are characterised by different policies and practices with regards to university-business research cooperation (UBRC). To examine those differences, from the perspective of research-intensive universities, this study’s analytical framework focuses on university research outputs that involve collaboration with local business sector partners. More specifically, university-business co-authored publications with authors from a business enterprise located within a 50 km range of the university’s city of location ( UBRC_50km publications ). The study comprises 193 research-intensive universities in China and 179 in the United States. Regression modelling of each country’s UBRC_50km publication output levels comprise two models: (1) ‘internal’ research profiles of universities; (2) extended model with two ‘external’ variables related to characteristics of the local geographical area. The findings of model 1 show that the two university research systems seem fairly similar in terms of UBRC_50km output patterns. When external explanatory factors are included, some significant differences emerge: in the USA, UBRC_50km output is significantly affected by the total patent output of the local area (i.e. patents of universities and local firms) representing the local R&D system; in China, it’s the number of other large research-intensive universities located in the same city or metropolitan area, thus reflecting the positive effects of urban agglomeration and the local science system.