Exploring the Organization of University–Industry Joint Laboratories: A Leadership Perspective

Maral Mahdad, Marcel Bogers, Andrea Piccaluga, Alberto Di Minin

Abstract

University–industry collaborations are an important driver of innovation that highlights the benefits of collaborative processes across organizational boundaries. However, like in most collaborative processes, many challenges remain when trying to manage the process of knowledge sharing and interaction in university–industry partnerships. In this chapter, the authors specifically investigate how leadership as a managerial dimension facilitates collaboration within university–industry joint laboratories. The authors present an explorative and inductive case study of eight joint laboratories set up by Telecom Italia within five major Italian universities. The results show that the laboratory directors play a crucial role in providing a dynamic and socially active working environment, which is enabled through a process of sensemaking and sensegiving. The authors, moreover, find that this process plays a crucial role by shaping effective communication channels that facilitate knowledge sharing and transfer of information. The authors find that this process ultimately acts as a mediator between charismatic leadership on the individual level and distributed leadership on the collective level.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCognition and Innovation
EditorsKristian J Sund, Robert J. Galavan, Stefano Brusoni
Number of pages33
PublisherEmerald Group Publishing
Publication date2018
Pages141-173
Chapter7
ISBN (Print)978-1-78769-432-3
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-78769-431-6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018
SeriesNew Horizons in Managerial and Organizational Cognition
Volume3

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