Organisational knowledge creating processes and the performance of university-industry collaborative R&D projects

This paper describes one of the first empirical explorations into organisational knowledge creation theory as first elucidated by Nonaka and Takeuchi [1]. We extend the theory and examine it in the inter-organisational context of University-Industry (U-I) collaborative R&D Projects. More specifically, the relationship between enabling conditions and knowledge conversion processes as well as the effects of these processes on the achievement of technological objectives are studied using a sample of 25 U-I collaborative R&D projects into advanced technology. Quantitative and qualitative evidence supports the theory that some enabling conditions are significant for knowledge conversion processes. Furthermore, the presence of the aggregate knowledge processes is positively associated with the achievement of successful technological objectives. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.