University-to-industry knowledge transfers and firms’ resilience during the great recession: evidence for Spanish firms
研究西班牙制造业企业在大衰退前与大学合作或获取研发知识，发现这些企业在衰退期间销售增长优于同行，尤其在小企业和受冲击大的行业，机制是产品差异化和新市场拓展。
This study examines the relationship between university-to-industry knowledge transfers and firm performance during economic downturns. Using a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms, we evaluate the performance of firms that collaborated with or acquired R&D from universities prior to the Great Recession, focusing on real sales growth relative to their peers. We find that firms that received knowledge transfers from universities outperformed their peers during the ecession, especially in the most affected sectors (as measured by export growth). Notably, the greater resilience associated with these partnerships appears to be limited to small and medium-sized firms. In addition, product differentiation and expansion into new markets appear to be potential mechanisms associated with the greater resilience of firms involved in university knowledge transfers. This is consistent with a shift in their innovation strategy towards exploration during recessions.