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TopIntroduction
According to AUTM (2005) the central mission of a university Technology Transfer Office (TTO) is to manage and operate TT activities. Accordingly, it is important to know how efficiently and effectively a TTO conducts its operations. Some TTO activities are quantifiable and can be identified and measured at least to some degree of clarity such as number of start-up firms established, number of industry relationships formed, number of patent applications filed, and licensing income (Arundel & Bordoy 2007). However, in reality such metrics may not accurately measure TTO performance. For example, concerning licensing income “top performers” commonly reflect the outcomes of one or two blockbuster IP assets rather than overall consistent TTO performance or efficiency (Thomas 2007). Additionally, many TTO tasks based on interpersonal contacts and such tacit knowledge exchange activities are difficult to observe and measure. Other tasks such as developing strategies and processes for transferring technology are difficult to assess at any one point in time as they require longitudinal analyses. Clearly such issues make it difficult to effectively evaluate TTO performance. To address these considerable and complex challenges we propose the multidimensional input-output framework of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a quantitative approach to assess efficiency and effectiveness dimensions in terms of TTO inputs and outputs (Resende, Gibson, & Jarrett, 2013). The objectives are to use DEA analyses to:
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Determine the overall relative efficiency of TTOs as well as the efficiency of critical processes in each of three phases,
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Identify critical characteristics of TTOs efficiency and effectiveness based on the literature and experts in order to measure key variables as they influence TTO's efficiency in each of three phases of the valorization and commercialization process, and
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Open the “black box” of TTO operations by better defining three sub phases showing input and output variables and metrics for each phase while highlighting their relationships.
This paper is organized as follows: identifying and describing TTO’s main processes in each of three phases; Overview of our research methodology; Data analyses; and Presenting empirical results followed by conclusions and policy implications.
TopDescribing Tto’S Main Process
Some researchers consider TTOs' operational process as a single phase (Anderson, Daim & Lavoire, 2007; Chapple, Lockett, Siegel, & Wright, 2005; Thursby & Kemp 2002). In such studies, the input-to-output process of TTOs is seen as a “black box” with little consideration of the intervening steps with select inputs and outputs to different phases of technology transfer processes. Such an approach provides little insight regarding determining sources of inefficiency (Lewis & Sexton 2004) and also provides limited process-specific guidance to help improve the effectiveness of TTO operations. Additionally, if sub-phases of TT processes are identified and evaluated, the separate phases approach does not account for the continuity of links between adjacent phases (Tone & Tsutsui 2009).