Influence of Industry-Academia Collaboration on Technology Maturity and Employment Generation: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

The university ecosystem has reached a tipping point where these educational hubs are adopting pathways to achieve ‘third mission' of entrepreneurship. These efforts are strengthened by the growth of university business incubators (UBIs) and the evolving nature of their collaboration with industry to support the technological growth of new ventures. Thriving on competitive advantage derived from innovative products or services, these startups under the aegis UBIs follow technological growth pathways through exploratory and/or exploitative innovation. The chapter will introduce the growth in technology readiness level (TRL), the maturity of technology offerings of a startup as determinate of venture success. The chapter, while relying on theoretical frameworks of innovation, TRL, and employment, would develop a conceptual framework of the impact of collaborative partnership between academia and industry on the innovation strategy of entrepreneurial venture and its influence on the technology success of the venture and to understand overall impact on generation on employment opportunities.