Extract

Interactions between public research organizations (PROs) and industry have received increasing attention with the adoption of a systemic approach in the study of innovation. This perspective highlights the interactive nature of the process of knowledge generation and the central importance of intense interactions among different actors for improving the overall performance of national systems of innovation (NSIs) (Freeman 1987; Lundvall 1992; Nelson 1993). The systemic approach replaces the linear model approach and implies that PRO–industry (PRO–I) interactions are no longer viewed as mere transactions reflecting a division of labour in knowledge production – from basic to applied scientific knowledge and from there to technology development. Instead, they represent an institutionalized form of learning that contributes to the stock of economically useful knowledge in a country. Being the product of historical development, country-specific patterns of PRO–I interactions are expected to occur. The aim of this chapter is to compare the use of different channels to transfer knowledge, and the achievement of benefits of PRO–I interactions across developing countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. We use a common conceptual framework and data from surveys based on similar questionnaires in four Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico), four Asian countries (China, Korea, India, and Malaysia), and one African country (Nigeria). The countries analysed are not developed countries yet, although they are in different stages of the catching-up process.