Universities are destined to engage in open innovation because they generally do not commercialize products themselves. Yet, they have strategic discretion over how to perform innovation and shape outcomes. This chapter considers two dimensions of strategic choice for universities: (1) the degree of control universities exert over how innovations are developed; and (2) how widely they intend their inventions or expertise to spread. Choices with respect to these two dimensions inform how licensing deals and research partnerships are structured.
The chapter discusses the tradeoffs and strategic implications of each choice with respect to licensing to spinoffs and established entities, exclusive vs. non-exclusive licensing, and closed vs. open research partnerships.
