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This study aims to specify whether heterogeneous reference-point-based aspirations are related to the cooperation levels of R&D alliance portfolios in a positive or negative (or nonlinear) way, and to unveil how cooperative behaviors evolve in recurrent project cooperation.

This study establishes a network containing a cooperation subnetwork and a project subnetwork based on patent data in the “deep learning” field to investigate how cooperative behaviors evolve in R&D alliance portfolios. A model of evolutionary games on complex networks is constructed to gain insight into the dynamic evolution of DMs’ strategies.

First, the heterogeneous aspirations of DMs can improve the cooperation level in R&D alliance portfolios. Second, compared to prudent DMs, aggressive DMs are more likely to choose the cooperation strategy, implying that an appropriate aspiration level nurtures cooperative R&D endeavors with partners. Third, the effects of effort complementarity, knowledge reorganization capabilities and cooperation supervision on cooperation are contingent on the distribution of DMs’ aspiration types.

Policymakers should identify aspiration types of DMs when screening partners. They can encourage partners to focus more on historical payoffs and establish relatively higher aspiration levels to improve the cooperation level. Developing highly detailed contracts becomes crucial when cooperating with firms that possess extensive knowledge reorganization capabilities.

This work contributes a theoretical framework for investigating cooperation in R&D alliance portfolios through the lens of evolutionary games on complex networks, thus revealing the effects of heterogeneous reference-point-based aspirations of DMs on R&D cooperation.

This study aims to explore the effect of digitalization on the promotion of enterprise R&D cooperation, and it analyzes the microimpact mechanism and boundary conditions of enterprise digitalization on enterprise R&D cooperation.

Based on survey data sourced from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys of the business environment of Chinese enterprises in 2012, this study applies multiple regression methods to test theoretical hypotheses.

Enterprise digitalization positively affects the breadth and intensity of enterprise R&D cooperation. Employees’ digital literacy plays an intermediary role between enterprise digitalization and enterprise R&D cooperation. The subordinate attributes of enterprises weaken the positive relationship between enterprise digitalization and the breadth and intensity of enterprise R&D cooperation. The shareholding of state-owned enterprises reinforces the positive relationship between digitalization and the intensity of enterprise R&D cooperation. However, such shareholding shows no significant regulatory effect on digitalization and the breadth of enterprise R&D cooperation.

Focusing on the digital transformation of the enterprise, this study discusses its impact mechanism on enterprise R&D cooperation, including the impact on the intensity and breadth of R&D cooperation. The study further examines the regulatory effect of organizational inertia on enterprise digital and R&D cooperation from two aspects: resource rigidity and routine rigidity. It emphasizes the significance of the digital literacy of employees in enterprise digitalization and discusses the micromechanism of enterprise digitalization and enterprise R&D cooperation.

This paper aims to determine the mediating effects of government-funded research and development (R&D) projects in the relationship between the competence factors of universities and the performance of university–industry cooperation.

This study has been conducted to analyze the mediating effect of government- and enterprise-funded R&D projects in consideration of the performance during university–industry cooperative projects. In this study, a three-step analysis of the mediating effects (Baron and Kenny, 1986) and Sobel Test are taken for the empirical analysis.

In the result, R&D funding from the central government partially mediates the performance of university–industry cooperation when the research capacity of the full-time faculty and the size of the Technical Licensing Office (TLO) are taken as independent variables. R&D funding from the central government does not mediate university–industry cooperation when the size of the center for university–industry cooperation is an independent variable. However, R&D funding from a local government does not mediate the performance of university–industry cooperative projects for any chosen independent variables. The results of this study suggest a direction for governmental funding in R&D projects to promote performance during university–industry cooperation. Another requirement is for universities to expand their research capacity and the operations of their TLO.

The majority of former research studies on university–industry cooperation and its performance have focused on the university’s research capacity, the competence of the TLO and the traits of the university.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse cooperation in R&D in the automobile industry in Spain. It first examines to what extent firms cooperate with external actors in the field of technological innovation, and if so, with what type of cooperation partner, paying special attention to the differentiation according to the size of the firms. Second, it aims to study how the firm’s size may affect not only the decision of cooperating but also with which type of partner.

The data in this study came from the surveys done in 2010 and 2013 by the Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) for firms in the automotive industry. The paper estimates a bivariate probit model that takes into account the two types of cooperation mostly present in such an industry, vertical and institutional, explicitly considering the interdependencies that may arise in their simultaneous choice.

The empirical study confirms that small firms cooperate less frequently than big firms and that giving more importance to information publicly available and having public financial support from local and national governments are important determinants of collaboration agreements, mainly in the case of customers and suppliers.

This paper contributes to the understanding of the motivations of the automotive industry for engaging in R&D cooperation agreements. The authors study how the firm’s size may affect not only the decision of cooperating but also with which type of partner.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how China’s manufacturers catch up with the forerunners through R&D cooperation by developing a new mode of latecomer–forerunner R&D cooperation, i.e. the periphery–core mode, which provides a viable way for China’s manufacturers to obtain forerunners’ core knowledge from their periphery knowledge via knowledge spillover and knowledge transfer.

The paper first reviews the literature on R&D cooperation process in the catching-up context and knowledge management in R&D cooperation. Then, three cases of R&D cooperation between China’s advanced technology manufacturers and their forerunners are introduced, with emphasis on interactivities in R&D cooperation and knowledge spillover. On the basis of the multi-case study, the periphery–core mode of R&D cooperation between latecomers and forerunners is conducted.

The paper finds that the latecomers can catch up with their forerunners by acquiring forerunners’ core technology used in periphery R&D activities. Through formal and informal interactions, the forerunners’ core technology can be extracted and transferred to latecomers, which the latecomers can then absorb and further develop. Thus, it can be concluded that the periphery–core mode of R&D cooperation is a viable way for the latecomers to get access to forerunners’ core technology.

The paper contributes to the literature on the catching-up theory by developing the periphery–core mode as a new mode for the latecomers to catch up with the forerunners. It expands the understanding of the latecomer–forerunner R&D cooperation by focusing on the way that China’s manufacturers as latecomers catch up with the forerunners by accessing the forerunners’ core knowledge from their R&D cooperation in periphery knowledge. The paper shows the mechanism of knowledge transfer and spillover in R&D cooperation. The role of communications, especially informal communication between cooperation partners, is emphasized in this process. This study also provides a new perspective for cooperation partner selection by arguing that latecomers can choose their cooperation partners according to the periphery and core knowledge they possess, other than the relationship between them. Besides, this paper emphasizes the mutual support between knowledge transfer, knowledge spillover and knowledge absorption, which is necessary for latecomers to achieve successful catching up in periphery–core R&D cooperation.

Research and development (R&D) initiatives are fundamental for society to evolve in its social, economic, technological and environmental dimensions. This study aimed to provide a view of what motivates researchers to participate in such projects as well as the benefits and barriers they encounter when cooperating in R&D projects.

A qualitative methodology was adopted, within which a case study was conducted: R&D project “GreenHealth - Digital Strategies”. This initiative was based on leveraging biological assets to improve well-being and promote health. Data were obtained from 10 interviews with researchers and documentary analysis such as the project’s official website and social media accounts.

The content analysis led to the conclusion that the researchers’ motivations for participating in R&D projects were the opportunity to contribute to scientific and social evolution, the creation of knowledge and personal factors inherent to the participating researchers. The benefits they derived were related to creating and spreading knowledge, as well as financial incentives. Barriers to participation were related to management, communication, organisational culture, the COVID-19 pandemic.

From this study the research team members can understand the importance of cooperation between institutions, which illustrates the importance of creating and transferring knowledge. This study shows also that, in R&D projects, educational and health institutions access new knowledge, attract highly qualified personnel/researchers, establish networks and share financial risks.

The study’s innovation derives from its demonstration that an R&D project of this nature is important for several organisations to develop the conception and implementation of a long-term strategy centred on human beings and focused on the eco-sustainability of the affected regions.

This paper analyzes the stability and the welfare properties of R&D cooperations in an oligopolistic market with n firms. It is shown that the sizes of stable coalitions vary significantly with the kind and the actual value of spillovers, the institutional arrangement of cooperation between the firms and the underlying stability concept. Moreover, the welfare maximizing coalition is rarely a stable equilibrium outcome, hence there is scope for political intervention. However, the informational requirements on part of the policy makers are high, and they are at risk to adopt inappropriate measures that are detrimental to social welfare.

It is widely accepted that enterprises obtaining academic discoveries through R&D collaboration improve their innovation performance. However, it is not necessarily true in emerging economies, such as China and post-socialist countries in Europe. The purpose of this paper is to fill the gap by investigating how R&D collaboration between industry and academia (i.e. universities and research institutes) affects the industrial innovation performance; and whether and how intermediaries moderate their relationships.

This paper constructs the research model according to the knowledge production function, and the pooled ordinary least square regression is used to verify our hypotheses.

Evidence from a sample of Chinese industrial enterprises in thirty provinces spanning from 2009 to 2014 suggests that R&D collaboration with research institutes (CWR) is positively related to innovation output, while R&D collaboration with universities (CWU) exerts negative effect on innovation output measured by sales revenue of new product (NPSR). The significant moderating role of technology transfer institutions is confirmed in the negative relationship between CWU and NPSR.

This paper empirically examines the moderating role of intermediary organisations in academia–industry cooperation and industrial innovation, and has practical implications for the government to formulate policies to improve the quality and effectiveness of cooperation between academic and industrial sectors. These results vary in inland and coastal areas, which suggest the policy makers to formulate policies according to local conditions not only in China but also in other countries, like European countries.

Industry practice has shown that technology licensing has an important effect on the R&D cooperation between firms. Different licensing methods will significantly impact a supply chain member's cooperative and price R&D decisions. However, there is scant literature investigating the decision on technology licensing and its impact on a supply chain member's price and cooperative R&D decisions. To address this gap, the authors investigate the R&D cooperation and the technology licensing in a supply chain formed of an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), a contract manufacturer (CM), and a third-party manufacturer which will compete with the OEM when the technology licensing occurs.

The authors investigate two licensing patterns, royalty licensing, fixed fee licensing together with the no licensing, within the R&D cooperative supply chain by developing two three-stage and a two-stage Stackelberg models.

Compare to the no licensing strategy, technology licensing always benefits to the OEM and the society especially when the technology efficiency and the brand power of the third-party manufacturer are more significant; the royalty licensing benefits to the OEM more when the technology efficiency and the brand power of the third-party manufacturer are higher; the fixed fee licensing benefits to the OEM more when the technology efficiency and the brand power of the third-party manufacturer are lower.

The royalty licensing is more effective for mitigating price competition intensity and helping firms to maintain higher sales margins; the fixed fee licensing induces firms' lower sales margins but increases the firms' sales quantities; in most cases, the fixed fee licensing is optimal from the perspectives of consumer and society, however, the CM's investment intention to the R&D technology with the fixed fee licensing is lower.

So far, different licensing models under the R&D cooperation have not been investigated, and the authors propose two three-stage Stackelberg models with considering the competition caused by technology licensing under the R&D cooperation to deal with the cooperative R&D and technology licensing issues.

This research aims to study the impact that the interaction between internal R&D and R&D cooperation has on the technical efficiency of firms, as well as to analyse whether firms belonging to a group achieve any additional level of technical efficiency.

We employ the stochastic frontier version of a knowledge production function, particularly the inefficiency model, and we combine the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and the complementarity approach.

The interaction between internal R&D and R&D cooperation has a positive and significant impact on technical efficiency when the complementarity test is applied between companies belonging to a group, and there is no interaction when they do not belong to a group.

Knowing this type of information in advance is critical for managers and policymakers, as it allows them to avoid undesirable combinations of innovation strategies or contexts not favourable for their implementation, as well as the formulation of policies leading to an efficient allocation of public resources.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper contributes an original approach in evaluating the complementarity of internal R&D and R&D cooperation from the perspective of technical efficiency and group membership, combining the SFA and the complementarity approach.

本研究擬探討內部研發與研發合作之間的相互作用會如何影響公司的技術效率;研究亦擬分析屬於集團的公司會否達致更高一級的技術效率。

研究人員採用一個知識生產函數的隨機前沿方法,尤其是低效模型,研究人員並且把隨機前沿分析和互補法結合起來進行探討。

研究結果顯示,若互補法在屬於集團的公司之間應用,內部研發與研發合作之間的相互作用會對技術效率產生積極和重大的影響;但是,如果公司不屬於任何集團的話,則沒有任何相互作用。

預先了解這方面的資料和信息對管理人員和政策制定者至關重要,這是因為這可讓他們避開不良的創新策略組合,以及那些不利於推行創新策略的環境;而且,能否制定可為公共資源高效分配的政策,也有賴於了解這方面的信息和資料。

據我們所知,本研究從技術效率和組成員身份的角度去評定內部研發與研發合作的互補性,在這方面提供了新穎的研究方法;而且,本研究結合了隨機前沿分析和互補法,這也是創新的做法。