Proximity and the Transfer of Academic Knowledge: Evidence from the Spatial Pattern of Industry Collaborations of East German Professors

S<sc>lavtchev</sc> V. Proximity and the transfer of academic knowledge: evidence from the spatial pattern of industry collaborations of East German professors, <italic>Regional Studies</italic>. Universities can stimulate local economic development, particularly due to collaboration with local industry. Against this background, this study analyses when these interactions are local. Previous research suggests that university--industry linkages are mainly local because of tacit knowledge and the importance of physical proximity. This study provides additional evidence that the spatial pattern of university--industry linkages is a result of a complex matching process of appropriate partners. The results indicate that actors' individual and relational characteristics, institutional factors, and the particular type of knowledge play a role in collaboration. Hence, university--industry collaborations might not be local.