A Cochrane Method Systematic Review of University Tech Commercialization Research

Since 1980 universities have been able to commercialize inventions that their faculty researchers create as per the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act (P.L. 96-517). Research universities can now own and license these inventions to small and well established companies. Since 1980, research universities have used tech commercialization to support their regional economies with product development and sales, and academic entrepreneurship resulting in university spinoffs and start-up business formations. This results in job creation. The technology transfer offices (TTOs) which were established at many research universities to manage this process have been studied quite extensively. However, the foundational elements that fuel successful TTO performance has not been studied comprehensively. Instead, there are numerous fragmented studies that date back to the early 1980s. In addition, there is no agreed upon common theory for studying university technology and how these elemental inputs related to performance outputs.

Thus, herein it is advocated that the resource-based view (J. Barney, 1991) and theory on environmental munificence (Castrogiovanni, 1991, 2002) be used as a theoretical framework for researching university technology commercialization. Competitive resources in a more munificent environment can make it easier for an organization to survive and prosper.