Microfoundations of technology transfer in a leading Brazilian university

Intellectual property (IP) production has become a topic of interest for universities around the world due to its capacity of providing both an application of scientific knowledge to real world situations and as an alternative source of revenue. In this ongoing research we explore the micro dynamics of university generated IP commercialization from the perspective of academics from a leading Latin American institution. We take a step further into understanding how this process unfolds and what makes it effective. Thus, we present results from 23 in depth interviews with inventors which have commercialized their inventions via the universities Technology Transfer Office. Our preliminary conclusions show that the form of university-industry interaction varies across fields of research and laboratories. However, there seems to be more commercialization effectiveness when academics demonstrate stronger entrepreneurial characteristics, thus being less reliable on the Technology Transfer Office, even though this is a necessary player on this process. We also comment on the specific case of a blockbuster patent and how the deep university-industry connection made possible for the IP to be commercialized and generate a significant value stream for the university.