For this qualitative case study, we carried out semi-structured focus group interviews with university team leaders and team members from three different universities: University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Anhui University (AHU) and Anhui Agricultural University (AHAU). We also interviewed anonymous experts from Anhui province over a five-week period in October and November, 2016. Interviews were conducted with four anonymous experts, five university team leaders (two from USTC, two from AHU, and one from AHAU) and one member from each team. Such an approach provided on-site interaction with interviewees and also matched the current conditions faced by local stakeholders and their needs (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004; Williams, 2011).

Our data collection strategy was based on the SECI knowledge creation model (Nonaka & Toyama, 2003). This model consists of a cyclical process made up of four phases: socialization, externalization, combination and internalization. Socialization is the first phase of the SECI knowledge creation model. In the beginning, tacit knowledge comes from individual experience. Thus, in terms of data collection, we interviewed university team leaders and experts. In the second phase — externalization — knowledge comes from individuals within each group in an organization through discussion and dialogue. To categorize this knowledge, we interviewed team leaders and team members. Combination is the third phase of the SECI knowledge creation model. In this phase, we combined the knowledge of all the universities’ team leaders and members. Internalization is the final phase of the SECI knowledge creation model; in this phase, we interviewed university team leaders and experts to explore relationships in Chinese research collaboration aimed at creating new knowledge and commercialization in industry.

Designing interview questionnaires

We designed a list of interview questions relating to our conceptual framework, as shown in Fig. 2. For data collection, we interviewed university team leaders, team members, and anonymous experts.

Fig. 2.

Conceptual framework (Nonaka & Toyama, 2003).

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For data collection, we first interviewed university project team leaders, because they are responsible for initiating any collaboration with government. Team leaders have experience with research collaboration, project design, and the initiation of government funding. Thus, our first three interview questions for the team leader were based on socialization (tacit knowledge). They explored new ideas, the importance of research collaboration, new knowledge and knowledge ownership. The next two questions were related to the conversion of ideas into new knowledge, including the execution of tasks assigned to team members and the role of team members in a university-government collaborative research project. The following four questions were related to the conversion of tacit knowledge and the combination of explicit knowledge through the involvement of university and government representatives. The final three questions related to the usefulness of collaboration and commercialization, and the benefits that come with such processes.

Second, we conducted interviews with anonymous experts, because they are responsible for the selection and evaluation of research collaboration proposals and final reports. Individual experts also have tacit knowledge (direct experience) of research collaboration, project proposal design, the evaluation of proposals and reports, and the funding and ownership of new knowledge. These experts advise the government on research collaboration with universities and the release of funding. Thus, our first six interview questions were related to the generation of new ideas, the importance of university-government collaboration and new knowledge, the selection and evaluation procedure for proposals, the allocation and release of funding, and the ownership of newly generated knowledge by the government. In university-government collaboration, the government and its experts were not involved in the externalization and combination processes. The final three questions covered the internationalization mode and the commercialization procedure of new knowledge and any benefits derived.

Lastly, we interviewed individual university team members because they were involved in converting ideas or executing tasks assigned by the team leaders. Our first two questions were thus related to how ideas were shared in terms of the generation of new knowledge, coordination between team members, and the role of team leaders and members. Our next three questions were related to the generation and combination of individuals’ (explicit) knowledge.

We used a deductive approach because it assists in narrowing down research to specific hypotheses for the testing of collected data and the confirmation of original theory (Trochim, 2006). For this study, one researcher conducted and transcribed all recorded interviews and analyzed the data according to the SECI model of knowledge creation, as shown in Fig. 2. The deductive content analysis approach is generally used to analyze data through verbal communication. This method validates collected data related to the research topic, providing new insights with representation of facts, sets of actions, and new ideas for building new models (Elo & Kyngäs, 2008; Vaismoradi, Turunen, & Bondas, 2013). Reviewing literature and carrying out selective interviews are important for the validity and reliability of all collected data. This technique helps researchers to avoid errors as well as bias (Abbas & Faiz, 2013; Yin, 2013). The analysis was qualitative and focused on the form of collaboration, its impact on knowledge generation and the commercialization of new knowledge in industry. We used the SECI knowledge creation model (Nonaka & Toyama, 2003) to identify the process of knowledge generation and commercialization, and its relationship with university-government collaboration. We use literature to support our statements in the form of validity and reliability of collected data.

The first phase of this model was based on the socialization process in the form of implicit exchange of ideas for the creation or generation of new knowledge. We then moved onto the externalization phase because it deals with assigning tasks to individuals (team members) and also formalization of knowledge, during which university team leaders and team members were involved in dialogue and reflection. After conducting interviews with university team leaders and team members, we categorized and applied externalized knowledge in a combination phase to combine individual generated knowledge which generated by team members. Then, in the internalization phase we acquired knowledge through university-government collaboration. Finally, as a result of distribution of generated knowledge, we commercialized that knowledge for use in industry.

By analyzing collected data, we also give in-depth information about different types of university-government research projects, role of each sector during university-government collaboration, ownership of generated knowledge and also distribution of rights in China especially in Hefei city of Anhui province.

Socialization is the process by which individuals from inside an organization use their experience to create new knowledge. We interviewed university team leaders and anonymous experts about the initialization of university-government research collaboration, funding, and the selection and evaluation process.

The initialization process of university-government research collaboration is reliant on both university and government individuals. The role of the university is to support university-government research collaboration. As such, the university “brings new and original ideas” in response to the government provision of resources for research. According to AHAU and AHU team leaders, “The university is a source of knowledge for the government”. Furthermore, “The university is the center of knowledge creation”. In addition, another AHU team leader said, “The university is good at theoretical analysis and research skills and the government's strength lies in the integration of information and resources”. Two anonymous experts said, “The university and government have strong connections with the area of development”. In China, university-government research collaboration is important because most universities belong to the public sector. Thus, research is mostly sponsored by the government and government always has the “dominant status”. According to another anonymous expert, “University-government research collaboration is important due to research funding and university team leaders or scientists getting competitive salaries”. University-government research collaboration in China is “different from other countries” because the evaluation process of the research proposal is like a “peer review”. During the selection and evaluation process of the proposal, “experts remain anonymous” to the applicant in a university-government collaboration research project, “The peer review process is rare”. This is because relatively few research groups exist in China. Researchers or scientists who are well known in the relevant field are also limited in number. In China, most university-government research projects have been “designed by the government”. The selection and evaluation of university-government research collaboration proposals is based on the “proposal design and its contents, research background, research methodology or technique, novelty, research contribution and financial plan”. One anonymous expert said that, “in China, ownership is decided by law and regulations, i.e. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)” for newly generated knowledge. In regard to the funding, two anonymous experts were interviewed. One of them said that the procedure for allocating and releasing funding depends on the nature of the project and is strictly audited by the government. For example, in China, the duration of National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) projects is four years. All funding is allocated at the beginning of that period. Upon completion of a project, the government carries out an evaluation. The other said that the release of funding is dependent on the nature of the project, with 30–70% of funding usually released by the government at the beginning of a project. The rest of the funding is released at the end.

After university-government research collaboration has been agreed, a university team leader forms a research team to execute the project. In China, such a team, “has three to five team members and certainly no more than 10”. According to one USTC team leader, most team members are “university Masters and PhD students”, although this depends on the nature of the project. The research team and its members work together to complete their tasks. The team leader transfers ideas to team members through communication methods that include individual and group discussions, seminars, and emails. The university team leader usually “recommends some papers from leading journals to their team members to introduce some ideas and then, through group discussion, the team leader will give his opinion”. The team leader plays a key role in university-government collaboration research. According to AHU and USTC team leaders, “A university team leader is the mediator or bridge between university and government”. The role of the university team leader in university-government collaborative research is “team leadership, the division of tasks, effective coordination, regular meeting arrangements, and the encouragement of team members”. Team members from the AHAU, AHU, and USTC all said that the role of university team members is to “follow up an idea, convert that idea into practice (i.e. given tasks), report and sometimes give advice to their team leader”.

In university-government research collaboration, a university research team is formed. Tasks are then assigned and executed. We asked questions about the collaboration of individuals’ knowledge during university-government research collaboration. In the combination mode, individuals’ knowledge is combined under the supervision of the university team leader with respect to the project guidelines. AHAU and AHU team leaders said that “this combination of individual knowledge depends on: the discussion and work refinement of each team member and the exchange of information for integration”. These factors are essential for the generation of new knowledge. Each team member “completes their assigned tasks by using their research skills (e.g., survey design, data collection and analysis) and the latest tools and techniques to meet the task requirements”. USTC team leaders said that “team leader selects best results of each member and then integrate using theoretical thinking and practical experience”.

We posed questions to university team leaders and anonymous experts about internalization and the commercialization of newly generated knowledge and any benefits derived from such knowledge. One anonymous expert said the “whole procedure of converting new knowledge to commercialization is already in place. First, you get IP, then you transfer it to industry” and another expert said “University research team applies for IP and then they commercialize it for use in industry”. After the commercialization of new knowledge, the university receives benefits in the form of new projects and more funding from government. One AHAU team leader said that the government can offer support in terms of the “promotion and commercialization of new knowledge”. An AHU team leader also stated that, “commercialization is the responsibility of government”, because it is the government that wants to improve some areas of industrial development. For this reason, the government arranges business meetings with industry representatives. The government itself does not directly benefit from the commercialization of new knowledge. After commercialization, however, benefits can include the promotion of industry, the creation of more job opportunities, the boosting of the economy, and the generation of more revenue through taxes. An anonymous expert stated that, “industry gets new knowledge for the improvement of their products”. Thus, industry acquires intellectual property, which allows them to produce new products and improve existing products so they can gain more profit. All anonymous experts and university team leaders agreed that, after the successful commercialization of new knowledge, all stakeholders benefit either directly or indirectly. The university and its team benefit directly because of intellectual property rights related to new knowledge and its commercialization. Both the government and industry also benefit indirectly. The government can use the acquired knowledge to reform their policies, promote businesses, increase the employment rate, enhance economic growth, and generate more revenue whilst industry can improve their products using the newly acquired knowledge and gain greater profits in the competitive marketplace after selling their products.

During the initial process of knowledge creation, individuals in universities or government initiate university-government research collaboration. The purpose of this collaboration is to help each other; in other words, a university brings new and original ideas on how to create new knowledge. In return, a government has the resources, specifically funding, to support them. The exchange of ideas and promotion of collaboration can only be done through communication between partners such as university and government (Ben Letaifa & Rabeau, 2013). In China's case, university-government research collaboration is particularly important because most universities are governed by local, provincial, or state governments. The government collects data from industry in order to identify any requirements. The collected data is then handed to the universities so that they can conduct research. Universities can also propose projects to the Chinese government about any industrial or social needs. Two kinds of university-government research projects exist in China: theory-oriented projects and practice-oriented projects. Theory-oriented research projects support basic theory development where new ideas are created in line with research trends around the world. These trends can be identified by attending meetings, reading published papers, or by communicating with well-known experts or scientists. An example of theory-oriented project is communication research project, conducted by Chinese quantum physicist Jian-Wei Pan at USTC to explore the basic theory of quantum communication (Cartlidge, 2017). Practice-oriented research projects are based on a need within an industry for some new knowledge or technology. For example, Chinese scientists from USTC invented the first quantum computing machine based on a single photon that is hundred time faster than normal computer (Xinhua, 2017).

In China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) supports universities by funding research for a maximum duration of four years. This funding is allocated only at the start of a project and projects are evaluated by the government on their completion. For the projects in this case study, the University team leader used funding to pay a salary to team members rather than pay expenses. In the case of the failure of a university-government project, applicants are not eligible to apply for further NSFC funding (although this also depends on the nature of the research project). In the case of small projects, applicants are eligible to apply for funding again after four years. For large projects, applicants are not eligible to apply for future funding. In China, the government usually encourages practice-oriented projects, despite the high risk involved. Theory-oriented university-government research projects are a key source of new knowledge creation aimed at helping industry and aiding economic development. Chinese government financial investment policies encourage research and development activities (Huang et al., 2017). The purpose of this is to encourage the creation of new knowledge. The government in China allocates approximately 40 billion Chinese Renminbi (RMB) every year to support these research projects.

In China, the government appoints experts to select and evaluate research proposals and write a final report. For the selection of research proposals, the reviewer remains anonymous. Experts only select those proposals that follow the guidelines or format endorsed by the government. In addition, they take into consideration: new ideas, research background and methodology, theory contribution, expected outcomes, past research experience and research team profile. Evaluation is based on research results, including practicality/feasibility aspects, novelty, research contribution, and financial execution plan. The ownership of new knowledge is decided by “IPR law”. University-generated knowledge is only protected through patents (Baba, Shichijo, & Sedita, 2009). Sometimes, both the university and government retain co-ownership. Other times, ownership is dependent on the set of terms and conditions stated in the university-government research proposal.

After university-government collaboration is initiated, the university team leader assigns tasks to their respective team members. A university professor is always the team leader and the research team typically consists of three to five members. Usually, team members are Masters or PhD students. A government officer or official is always in charge of a university-government research project. Individuals in each university team, including team leaders and members, arrange and participate in group discussions to share their new ideas. Team leaders act as mentors and act as a bridge between the government and the university during the research process. Team leaders are responsible for engaging the externalization mode. They lead their team, assign tasks to each member according to their skills, arrange individual or group meetings, and encourage and advise each team member. Team members are responsible for following team leader instructions and advising them on how to accomplish assigned tasks within a given timeframe. In the externalization mode, it is imperative that university team leaders and members communicate their findings and coordinate their activities.

Thereafter, it is through combination process, that explicit knowledge is collected from individuals and then combined to generate new knowledge (Nonaka & Toyama, 2003). In order to generate new knowledge, the individual results of each team member are combined following group discussions and meetings. The exchange of information about integration uses theoretical and practical research skills. Team leaders use their practical research experience to combine individual results.

University-government collaboration provides a platform that enables universities to generate and protect their knowledge before commercialization through IPR law. To commercialize the newly generated knowledge to the industry, universities must follow their internal rules and procedures, as well as government issued policies and guidelines (Baba et al., 2009; Perkmann et al., 2013). The procedure for the generation and commercialization of new knowledge is built into the collaboration process. Direct methods include collaboration and licensing. Once intellectual property rights are applied for, the newly created knowledge is commercialized so that it can be used in industry. The government helps to commercialize new knowledge by arranging meetings with industry representatives. The most common method in China for distributing intellectual property rights is “622”. Here, the research team gets 60% of the intellectual property of any new knowledge, while 20% belongs to the school or department, and 20% goes to the respective university. Any variation depends on the intellectual property-related terms and conditions mentioned in the university-government research collaboration proposal or contract. Both the government and universities are co-owners of any new knowledge, which also belongs to the nation. Through the commercialization of new knowledge, the university and government act as producers. Industry, as the user of new knowledge, reaps any benefits, whilst the university benefits directly from the intellectual property rights attained. They are also eligible to apply for more projects and government funding. Triple Helix collaboration helps to enhance relationships between all stakeholders and ensures acquisition of mutual benefits from generated knowledge (Aldrich, 2012; Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 1998, 2000). The government derives benefits from the commercialization of new knowledge in the form of new policies to promote businesses, increased job opportunities, increased GDP, and greater revenue generation through taxes. Industry can then use newly acquired knowledge for practical purposes. For example, they can improve existing knowledge, seek competitive advantages, get subsidies from government, and gain more profits to enhance their business.

The main theoretical contribution of this study is to highlight the role of both university and government collaborations in order to catalyze the generation and commercialization of new knowledge for their respective industries and to encourage innovative product development within a Triple Helix context. We have also outlined the role of the university. The government has assigned a new role to universities in the knowledge segment where they act as a source of new knowledge generation for industrial innovative product development and regional based research activities. Finally, our studies confirm that the SECI knowledge creation model is applicable at an inter-organizational level for the generation and commercialization of new knowledge, especially in a Chinese context.

The practical implications of this research are that, firstly, the university as a hub of knowledge creation, needs to better develop their university based technology transfer offices. This is so that they can identify the worth of new scientific results (university generated new knowledge) and protect them under the government given IPR guidelines to avoid any future conflicts regarding infringement in the society. Secondly, the government can encourage research in universities and in regions by allocating specific research grants for the generation of new knowledge. The government can also explore opportunities to design some flexible, short and long term policies that give subsidies to the industry so they can better acquire knowledge from universities. Moreover, industry as a user, can perhaps arrange expos as a means to encourage universities and their research groups to participate and show their scientific research results. These platforms could form a much-needed bridge between university research groups and industrial experts to share ideas, research results, and requirements. It is possible to engineer a meeting ground where the government supports industries and promotes research and business activities to encourage economic development within the region and subsequently, economic growth.

One particular limitation of this research study was that we selected only the top three Hefei city-based public sector universities and anonymous government experts from Anhui province of China. The selected interviewees were fluent in English, although they sometimes needed help from a translator or language translation software tools to translate and explain questions using the Chinese language. It was difficult to arrange interviews with Chinese university team leaders and experts because most of them were not proficient in English and few had flexible schedules.

To further extend this research, it might be beneficial to explore studies on how innovations in certain industries could be initiated from within the industry itself, as opposed to the outside, e.g. university. It is possible that industry could also initiate university-lead projects. A future research project to understand these facets of discussion might involve the study of how these options differ amongst their performance and general effects.