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The main aim of the paper is to examine the drivers of university–firm R&D collaboration while at the same time assessing the determinants of innovation in a low-tech industry. This includes analysing firm R&D collaborations with partners different from universities.
The paper relies on a unique data-set where firm data were sourced from the Capitalia survey, covering the 1995–2006 years, and the university data were gathered from a number of sources.
Result from a multivariate probit model reiterate that university–firm R&D collaboration affects process innovation. Evidence of a more novel kind suggests that product innovation is positively affected by geographical proximity to a university but is negatively affected by the amount of its codified knowledge production. Degree programmes in fields useful for local firms favour R&D collaborations. Academic policies that aim to commercialise research output negatively impact both product and process innovations of local firms.
