Proximity and Performance in University-Industry Research Collaboration Projects: Evidence from Thailand

This study investigates the impact of geographical, cognitive, and social proximities on the success of university-industry research collaboration (UIRC) projects.The success of UIRC projects is evaluated by firms' innovative performance regarding whether UIRC leads to innovations that firms can effectively utilize for commercial purposes.The empirical analysis is based on data collected from 153 firms engaged in research collaborations with universities and receiving financial support through the Research and Researchers for Industry (RRI) program, a public research granting initiative in Thailand aimed at enhancing firms' innovativeness through collaborations with universities.The results from ordinal regression analysis reveal that geographical and cognitive proximities improve firms' innovation performance, suggesting that physical proximity and shared knowledge and expertise contribute to the favorable outcomes of UIRC projects.However, our findings do not indicate a significant impact of social proximity on firms' innovations, suggesting that relational aspects alone may not be sufficient for driving successful collaborations.These findings shed light on the importance of geographical and cognitive proximities in fostering successful UIRC projects and their subsequent impact on firm innovation.The outcomes provide valuable insights for policymakers, industry practitioners, and researchers seeking to optimize university-industry collaborations and leverage the benefits of geographical and cognitive proximity.Future studies could further explore additional factors that may mediate or moderate the relationship between proximities and UIRC project success, enhancing our understanding of effective collaboration strategies in the context of university-industry research partnerships.