The Development of an Interaction Mechanism Between Universities and Other Innovation System Actors: Its Influence on University Innovation Activity Effectiveness

• Main Authors: Aleksandra Kobicheva, Tatiana Baranova, Elena Tokareva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
• Series: Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity
• Subjects: innovation system; open innovations; scientific cooperation; interaction effectiveness
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2199-8531/6/4/109

The innovative economy is based on effective interaction between the scientific and educational sphere and the business environment, free flow of innovative ideas, and active commercialization of developments in order to constantly update and develop the domestic economy through new technologies. At the moment, a model of effective interaction between universities, business structures, and government in Russia has not been built. This research is aimed to develop a mechanism for multilateral interaction between universities and other participants in the innovation system, which ensures the activation of scientific and innovative activities, acceleration of the transfer process, and effective commercialization of innovative ideas. Methods. To evaluate the effectiveness of the offered interaction mechanism based on the open innovation platform we conducted a complex multi-criteria assessment of forecast indicators of a university’s innovation activity effectiveness. We conducted two online surveys. Heads of scientific laboratories at the university (N = 4) and representatives of business (N = 3) acted as experts. The first survey was intended to indicate the weight of innovation activity indicators reflecting the significance of these indicators in the framework of innovation development. In the second survey, experts defined the forecast indicators of the university’s innovation activity after implementation of the proposed interaction mechanism. Results. The conducted study revealed the importance of enhancing cooperation between universities and other innovation system actors for achieving higher results of innovation activity. The calculation of the effectiveness of the offered interaction mechanism showed positive influence on the university’s innovation activity indicators. Thus, the mechanism can be used by multidisciplinary universities to increase their innovation activity indicators as well as the potential of all interacting entities.