| Abstract: | Technology transfer, and its focus on research commercialization, is gaining popularity in all academic fields as a way to better demonstrate universities' external impacts. We conducted a multiple case‐study of three commercialization projects in Organizational Development, Information Technology, and Marketing, which took place in a university business school. We explored to what extent the technology transfer model of commercializing academic outputs could apply in business schools. We also examined its potential value compared to other ways of sharing academic expertise. Although the technology transfer approach appears to work, the three projects exhibited crucial characteristics that markedly differ from traditional technology transfer. Compared to other forms of knowledge uses, what makes research commercialization so attractive is that it is readily observable and traceable. However, it raises some fundamental questions about knowledge production and its use. Copyright © 2015 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
