Knowledge valorization around academic medical centers

Abstract

Knowledge valorization, a process in which value is added to new knowledge in order to transform it into a new (improved) product, process or service in the market, becomes more and more important in the current economy and society. In particular for the health care area this can lead to large benefits for patients and society. This study investigated to what extent investing in financial, human and social capital influences the knowledge valorization performance of academic medical centers. A total of five European academic medical centers and their related knowledge valorization actors have been studied. 28 interviews have been conducted, complemented with a review of relevant literature. Firstly, all knowledge valorization landscapes have been mapped. This illustrated which actors are involved in the knowledge valorization process. It became clear that the process involves the deployment of fifteen knowledge valorization activities and that investing in financial capital, human capital, and social capital is needed to be able to deploy those activities. Regarding the knowledge valorization performance it became clear that all cases perform quite close to each other. In general human resources appeared to be most important for knowledge valorization around academic medical centers. The human resources have such a large influence on the valorization process mostly because of the broad range of needed expertise and the ability to bridge scientists with the industry. Financial capital and social capital alternate with each other regarding their importance for knowledge valorization. The importance of the social network of actors is mainly due to the possibility of adding expertise and the ability of testing ideas. The financial resources mainly contribute to knowledge valorization through the possibility to buy additional expertise and through the use of seeding money to invest in promising ideas. It also can be concluded that the three resources are dependent on one another, as one resource can help to get access to another resource. Several recommendations can be made for academic medical centers and their related actors: • Invest most in developing human resources by training of employees in several skills and by hiring employees with a diverse set of qualities. • Make sure that employees can make a career in the knowledge valorization field as reward and incentive. For instance a researcher could be promoted to associate professor or professor. • Lobbying with governmental actors for financial resources meant for supporting knowledge valorization to avoid opportunities that remain unused.