University knowledge spillovers in university-industry collaboration: A case study of Lanzhou University of Technology

Universities are increasingly seen as an important “knowledge hub” of innovation. However, despite the growing interest of scholars and policymakers to better understand the knowledge spillovers between firms, studies on university knowledge spillovers are relatively small. With this context, this paper thus aims to examine the concept, the characteristics and the mechanisms of university knowledge spillovers based on the theoretical and empirical research. Firstly, study found that the mechanisms of university knowledge spillovers determined by the characteristics of university knowledge. Secondly, based on the questionnaire survey of 124 scientists from Lanzhou University of Technology we found that university-industry collaboration this formal cooperative network is an important mechanism of university knowledge spillovers. Finally, the study has obtained the corresponding policy recommendations.