Research Essay on University Technology Transfer and its Linkages with Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This essay analyses the impact and importance of University Technology Transfer Offices with regards to entrepreneurship. It also addresses underlying gaps between university research and its commercialization leading to new firm creation. 15 research papers having more than 100 citations were chosen for the study. A careful study reveals that technological transfer offices located in universities would play a key role in filing and licensing of patents for the interested candidates. Moreover the practices that take place in universities such as incubation programs, mentoring and project works help in developing entrepreneurial skills in students which would be vital for technology commercialization. Based on the literature review done in the study it can be said that so far the number for commercialized technology is quite low. Most of them being qualitative studies call for more robust quantitative studies in order to validate the findings made by inductive researches in the past. The essay has implications in practice for academicians and emerging entrepreneurs as entrepreneurship and technology go hand in hand and changes faster than one could imagine. This essay also has importance for scholars as it calls for a suitable framework and appropriate research design to conduct meticulous research in the future and substantiate what past researches have explored.