The Importance of an Inclusive Technology Transfer Office Culture in Linking University and Industry

Cultural differences among the stakeholders in the university-industry collaboration space are highlighted as one of the most important barriers in the technology transfer (TT) process. The Technology Transfer Office (TTO) emerges as an important institution to deal with them. Based on a systematic literature review, this study identifies research addressing both topics: TTO and culture. It analyses, through a case study, the main characteristics of the organizational culture of a well-established and successful TTO using the Competing Values Framework. Results show that only limited scientific work emphasizes the nature of organizational culture of the TTO. In addition, the empirical findings show that the culture of the TTO should be an inclusive one comprising an interrelated and ambiguous set of cultural characteristics that embrace the culture of its various stakeholders in a pragmatic, professional, and service-oriented manner. In doing so the TTO bridges information and interpretation asymmetries among them.