Success Factors for Industry-University Collaboration Through IS Industry Boards: A University Case in a Developing Country

Abstract

This chapter examines the success factors for industry-university collaboration through IS industry boards. Based on an in-depth case of industry-academic collaboration in Mexico, the chapter addresses the following research questions: What are the critical success factors for achieving good outcomes from an IS industry board? What factors impede the achievement of good outcomes from such a board in a developing nation? What factors are distinctive and serve to differentiate IS industry boards of developing nations from those of advanced ones? In the case study, the IS industry board enhanced the IS academic program’s curriculum, the university’s computer labs, the student internship program, and faculty training. This case demonstrates that the critical success factors for the IS industry board were top management support, the department chair’s interpersonal skills, board member selection, proper board management, and appropriate university policies regarding industry-university collaboration. The experiences of developing and advanced nations for such boards are mostly similar, but differ due to lack of tenure track careers for IS faculty in the developing nation under study.