Key Competences for Technology Commercialisation

The achievement of the sustainable development goal of fostering innovation is directly related to the successful commercialisation of technologies that deliver economic, environmental, and social value. The article presents the theoretical prerequisites for substantiating the relationship between competences and innovation and identifies key commercialisation competences on the basis of an extensive literature review and empirical investigation. The literature emphasises that the success of commercialisation depends on technological and organisational resources as well as the competences of those involved in commercialisation activities. However, to date, research has mainly focused on selected competences, with relatively few studies simultaneously analysing the perceived importance of competences and the extent to which employees of research organisations possess them. This article aims to identify the key commercialisation competences necessary for executing technology commercialisation in research network organisations and to evaluate the extent to which employees involved in commercialisation activities possess and recognise the importance of these competences. Many of these can be treated as core sustainability-oriented competences, understood as capabilities that enable sustainability-oriented commercialisation by integrating environmental and social considerations into innovation processes. An empirical investigation was conducted at the Łukasiewicz Research Network, one of the largest research networks in Europe. The CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing) method was employed. Eighty-nine respondents, employees involved in commercialisation processes, represented both research and commercialisation support departments. Statistical analyses included confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses, scale reliability, measurement invariance analysis, and comparison tests. As a result, ten key commercialisation competences were identified, including both interpersonal competences and job-related commercialisation competences for research network organisations. The ten identified key competences constitute an integrated competence framework that enables research network organisations to effectively support sustainability-oriented innovation and commercialisation activities. Out of the 25 competences identified as a result of the literature review, these were regarded as the most essential and compulsory.