The new inclusive role of university technology transfer : setting an agenda for further research

Universities are coming under increasing pressure to produce impact that contributes to socio-economic development. Previous studies have focused on university technology transfer (UTT) mechanisms that lead to the commercialisation of intellectual property. We find that off-late, the legitimacy of such mechanisms, owing to high-failure rates of IP-based start-ups, has come into question. Universities are being invited to widen their academic entrepreneurship (AE) practices to include other forms of knowledge transfer. The increased attention on contemporary concepts such as social entrepreneurship calls for broadening UTT performance indicators to include multiple bottom-lines. These bottom-lines should amplify the societal benefits of AE. This new emphasis raises high-level questions about the societal role of universities and UTT. The aim in this paper is to, therefore, reframe the debate on UTT processes by highlighting a revised agenda for further research. This is done by analysing the extant literature on UTT, academic entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial universities and innovation. The analysis includes a critical review of 96 peer-reviewed articles. As a result, a macro perspective is presented which highlights UTT as-a-mechanism for universities’ contribution to collective societal goals. Propositions are outlined for future research; these can be used for developing new understanding on how universities can actively contribute to socio-economic development agendas.