Public Private Partnerships and Absorptive Capacity as Catalysts for Technology Transfer

We examine and determine the aspects that have influenced the successful technological transfer of technologies developed by Universities and Public Research Institutions (U&PRIs) to industries in Korea between the year 2019- 2023. Analyzing the sample of 5340 technology transfers within 3347 firms, the paper explores the link between internal innovation capacity, absorptive capacity, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in relation to commercialization performance. Data gathered from a survey with 1038 organizations provide valuable insights into 514 technologies as well as their impact on the growth of organizations. Our results show that partnership with private firms is always required for commercialization to take place, regardless of the competition level. Absorptive capacity exerts positive influences on success in commercialization and long-term business growth in high competition while internal innovation capacity exerts a complex relationship, with positive impacts in high competition but negative impact in low competition. These findings underpin the need for an innovation approach that responds to the competitive context and equally shed light on the dynamics among absorptive capacity, internal innovation and external partnerships in technology transfers.