Twins or Strangers? Differences and Similarities between Industrial and Academic Science

Our results paint a complex picture of academic and industrial science. While we find significant industry-academia differences with respect to all four dimensions, we also observe remarkable similarities. For example, both academic institutions and private firms appear to allow their scientists to stay actively involved in the broader scientific community and provide them with considerable levels of independence in their jobs. Second, we find significant differences not just between industrial and academic science but also within each of the two sectors as well as across fields. Finally, while the nature of research is a significant predictor of other dimensions such as the use of patenting and publishing, it does not fully explain the observed industry-academia differences in those dimensions. Overall, our results suggest that stereotypical views of industrial and academic science may be misleading and that future work may benefit from a richer and more nuanced description of the organization of science