Abstract
University Science and Technology parks play a very important role in the national innovation system. They serve as a platform for universities to transfer and apply their scientific research outcomes to industry and help to incubate high-tech firms. The functions of University Science and Technology Park are mainly reflected in the following aspects: assisting the transformation of university research outcomes, serving business incubation, supporting personnel training, and strengthening industry-university cooperation. According to the knowledge-based theory, the ability to create and apply knowledge is the source of the firm’s competitive advantage, and the stock of firm’s knowledge is critical for the firm’s development.
Given that firms in high-tech industries always face changes of resource constraints, only relying on internal knowledge and resources is not enough to support the long-term development of enterprises. Acquiring external knowledge has become one of the important ways for firms to improve their knowledge and capabilities. University Science and Technology parks are an effective mechanism through which knowledge is transferred from universities to firms, in turn, enhances the firm’s value creation and performance. However, previous studies have shown that the efficiency of knowledge transfer in Chinese universities is only 39 %, far less than 60 % in developed countries. Therefore, the research on the mechanism of knowledge transfer has an important practical value.
Drawing on the knowledge-based theory and knowledge collaboration theory, this research develops a conceptual model to examine how external knowledge transfer can promote cooperative innovation and improve firm’s performance. This research argues that the relationship between knowledge transfer and collaborative innovation is contingent on absorptive capacity while the relationship of collaborative innovation with firm performance is enhanced when the firm has strong entrepreneurial orientation. By using the sample of 268 firms from University Science and Technology Parks in China, I find that external knowledge has a significant positive impact on firm performance. Moreover, knowledge acquisition and knowledge sharing can improve the knowledge stock of firms, and then improve the growth and profitability of firms. Moreover, collaborative innovation activities promote firm performance, but different collaborative innovation activities have different effects on firm performance. Exploratory collaborative innovation can improve the growth performance, and the impact of exploitative collaborative innovation on the profitability performance is more significant. Furthermore, external knowledge has a significant positive impact on collaborative innovation. Knowledge acquisition and knowledge sharing can effectively promote collaborative innovation activities. It also verifies that collaborative innovation mediates the relationship between external knowledge and firm performance. Exploratory collaborative innovation and exploitative collaborative innovation play a full mediating role in the relationship between knowledge sharing and firm growth performance such that knowledge sharing enhances collaborative innovation activities, in turn, improve enterprise performance. I also find that the four dimensions of absorptive capacity play a significant moderating role between external knowledge and collaborative innovation. Finally, entrepreneurial orientation plays a significant moderating role between collaborative innovation and firm performance.
This thesis studies the performance of university science park enterprises from the perspective of cooperative innovation. The research results can help enterprises improve corporate performance through knowledge transfer and provide guidance and reference for the development of University Science and Technology Parks.