On the relation between knowledge management and university-industry-government collaboration in Brazilian national institutes of science and technology

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how knowledge management and university-industry-government collaboration – including the triple helix – relate with each other in influencing organizations’ performance. In the competitive environment nowadays, an organization’s ability to create and use knowledge becomes ever more essential in the search for sustainable competitive advantage, even leading to the search for new forms of inter-organizational arrangements. Design/methodology/approach The representatives of such collaborations selected for this study are the National Institutes of Science and Technology. The categorical content analysis technique was used for the qualitative analysis of the data. Findings The principal contribution was the proposal of an analytical model relating the knowledge management and triple helix theories and the proposed dimensions (namely, structural, relational, cognitive and the context), considering the peculiarities of the Brazilian context. The findings show that the organizational structure (structural) influences not only the relationship among members (relational) but also the flow of knowledge (cognitive), as well as how relational elements (collaborative culture, trust and leadership) facilitate knowledge sharing. Moreover, the context affects these three other dimensions. The main obstacles identified were cultural differences, bureaucracy and the socio-economic reality, while facilitators were the existence of technology parks and incubators, government incentives and geographical proximity between universities and industry. Originality/value This topic was chosen as there are few empirical studies that comprehensively relate the topics of knowledge management and university-industry-government cooperation focusing on the Brazilian context.