INTERSECTOR TECHNOLOGY COOPERATION - HARD MYTHS, SOFT FACTS

Intersector or cross-sector technology cooperation has lately gained i ncreased public and academic attention as perhaps an effective means t o promote corporate global competitiveness. As empirical research cont inues to emerge, the widely held myths associated with such cooperatio n may now be challenged. This paper lists three general myths and two myths for each type of cross-sector technology cooperation: university , industry, university-government and industry-government. These myths , some positive, others negative, tend to oversimplify the causes that contribute to the success or failure of the cooperation. The paper co ncludes that intersector cooperation is feasible and produces some res ults that benefit all the cooperating parties. However, it is also a c omplex phenomenon that cannot and should not be reduced to overly simp listic assertions, usually encapsulated in myths about its feasibility . (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.