Abstract:
Ongoing discussions and changes in the New Zealand innovation system have underlined
the need to improve the level of co-operation between firms and the Crown Research
Institutes (CRIs) in New Zealand. This study contributes to this discussion by assessing
the critical success factors for research co-operations between firms and CRIs. Alongside
the practical value of this study, it also contributes to the development of relationship
marketing theory, where empirical insights into research co-operations between firms
and research institutes is lacking. Specifically, a case study methodology was utilised to
test a conceptual model developed from existing literature in the context of research cooperations
between universities and firms. To do so, similarities and contrasts between
two successful research co-operations and two less successful research co-operations
were examined in the light of 12 previously developed propositions.
Findings from this study highlight the strong similarity of success factors for research cooperations
between firms and universities with those of firms and research institutes.
However, additional themes emerged from this study, notably the concepts of group
diversity and the multidimensionality of trust. The emergence of these additional themes
might be explained by the unique characteristics of the New Zealand innovation system
(remoteness and small size of firms), and the study methodology, which enabled
additional insights.
Overall, this study contributes empirical data and conclusions from a new context to
relationship marketing literature. From a managerial point of view, this study highlights
the importance of a good balance between trust and distrust, a strong bond between the
boundary spanning managers, and satisfactory communication as major determinants of
successful research co-operation between firms and CRIs.
