Impact of the ambidexterity of University Technology Transfer Offices on their performance: The Spanish context

Abstract

University Technology Transfer Offices (UTTOs) are units created to promote knowledge transfer. They assist academics by creating academic spin-offs (ASOs) and managing contracts, consulting, licenses, and patents. These units have grown in size, age, experience, and professionalism, thereby gaining resources and networks to improve UTTOs’' performance. However, neither the creation of these units nor the presence of these characteristics are sufficient to improve transfer performance. Organizational UTTO ambidexterity, as a dynamic capability, and individual UTTO ambidexterity, as the individual orientation of UTTO employees, seems necessary to address two exploitative and explorative orientations to improve knowledge transfer. Exploitative orientation aims to provide UTTO services by seeking improvement, efficiency, and incremental innovation. Explorative orientation is oriented toward seeking new opportunities to provide new UTTO services and identify new customers for radical innovation. This study analyzes the impact of organizational and individual ambidexterity of Spanish UTTOs on their transfer performance. The regression analysis indicates that the organizational ambidexterity of UTTOs is critical for the number of ASOs. In addition, individual ambidexterity is relevant for obtaining higher contract and consultancy incomes and licenses. By contrast, the impact of organizational and individual ambidexterity on patents is yet to be determined.