Conjoint analysis of R&D contract agreements for industry-funded university research

Since the late nineteenth century, universities have been regarded as useful sources of technological development to stimulate economic activity. Therefore, many governments have encouraged research collaborations between universities and industries. A consequence of such collaboration in Korea, however, is that university researchers have difficulty claiming ownership of their technological developments. Typical contracts used in academia in Korea have biased benefits for industries. Research and development contract agreements that decrease negotiation efforts between the sectors of academia and industry are essential to increase the efficiency of industry-academia collaborations. In order to determine an optimal contract design, we use conjoint analysis of four attributes, including policies of ownership and compensation, indemnity responsibility, patent application and maintenance fees, and publication restrictions. The resulting preferences take into account the perspectives of both industry and academia. We expect our approach to contribute to increasingly healthy collaborations between industry and academia, which in turn will benefit industrial competition as well as the Korean economy.