Intermediaries that facilitate university–industry research partnerships: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Research on intermediaries facilitating university–industry collaboration (UIC) has grown substantially in recent decades. However, existing reviews predominantly focus on intermediaries supporting commercialization, neglecting those facilitating university–industry research partnerships, another distinct UIC channel that involves deeper interactions and the exchange of tacit knowledge. Given the fragmented state of the relevant literature, we perform a systematic review to provide a coherent understanding of intermediaries in research partnerships. Five types of intermediaries operating at organizational and individual levels emerge through reviewing 69 articles. We contribute by (1) proposing a process model outlining their roles and activities across partnership stages and (2) presenting a framework that discerns partnership development- and partnership participants-related consequences of intermediary involvement and categorizes factors affecting their effectiveness into internal, external, and inter-organizational levels. Based on integrated insights, we formulate a future research agenda in seven areas and discuss practical implications for leveraging intermediaries to catalyze partnership development.