Intermediaries as mediators of cognitive proximity and trust

In the quantitative analysis in Chapter 4.4, a varying boundary-spanning influence on STP resident firms’ interactive linkages to academia was identified for the three different types of intermediaries examined: STP management organization, university TTO, as well as regional innovation promoting entities.²³⁹ Among them, a considerable number of firms un-derlined the relevance to the STP management as well as the regional innovation promot-ing organizations in particular (39% and 35%, respectively).²⁴⁰ In contrast, only a small fraction of 17% of the 52 businesses assigned importance to the two universities’ TTO, which are specialized on the support of university-industry knowledge transfer.

In the interviews, several firms highlighted that the STP management facilitated in the process of the identification of fitting scientific knowledge sources and the formation of linkages. To illustrate, one interviewee highlighted the knowledge brokering function of Cartuja 93: “They provided the contacts and managed a little bit the project. (…) We were looking for somebody in a certain field, and they provided us with the contacts to the part-ners. (…) I [also] have a database of specialized research groups, which was forwarded to me by Cartuja 93.“ (CAR_16). Similarly, another interviewee from the Cartuja science park explicitly emphasized the crucial boundary-spanning function of the regional innovation entities, for example, CITAndalucía as entry channels to establish links to appropriate research groups on the regional and international scale in particular: “Maybe, the ones that we have worked with mostly, has been CITAndalucía (…). The truth is that we work with them a lot and we use them as a channel to search for regional partners or outside Spain.

239 At the Cartuja science park and in Andalusia in general, a diverse set of regional innovation-related organi-zations has been identified, e.g.CTA, Agency IDEA, CITAndalucía and FIDETIA. In case of Berlin and the STP Adlershof, Berlin Partner and Technologiestiftung Berlin (TSB) fit into this category (see Chapter 3.1).

240 As outlined in company 4.4, the intermediary role of the STP management was evaluated similarly strongly throughout the three different groups of knowledge seekers (43% | 33% | 39%). In contrast, strong knowledge seekers and moderate knowledge seekers assessed the regional innovation agencies and CIC (43% and 33%, respectively) more strongly than firms identified as lame knowledge seekers (23%). In re-gard to university TTO, the three groups generally placed similar low emphasis (24% | 17% | 8%).

(…) They have got a great database and they know what are the research groups in Andalusia and what each research group is doing.” (CAR_24). The intermediaries’ active support in the scanning and identification of suitable knowledge sources by providing knowledge capabilities to client firms has also been stressed in the literature (Howells, 2006; Battistella et al., 2016). In regard to the development of sufficient cognitive proximity between the formerly unconnected actors, Thune (2009) has referred to the role of inter-mediaries as translators.

Furthermore, several interviewees stressed the intermediaries’ assistance in making con-tacts and in the development of functional relations to new scientific knowledge sources by mediating trustworthiness and reputation: "Lately, we have received a lot of support by the CTA. (...) So when we need experts, they help us to find the research groups and put us in contact with them.“ (CAR_11). This also applies to the development of new relations to academia on the international scale, as this company from the STP Cartuja pointed out:

“The fundamental support of these institutions comes when we, let’s say, go to the Europe-an level. When we go outside [Spain], these kind of relationships allow us to establish other contacts on the European level.“ (CAR_20). Repeated cooperation and the development of personal linkages between the firms and intermediary organizations’ management or tech-nical staff further facilitate the transferability of trust to so far unconnected scientific institu-tions. In addition to the previous statement, the Cartuja-based interviewee placed particular emphasis on the personal relations to intermediaries’ technical personnel: “This is based on personal relationships, too. (…) I also have quite a few years of experience in this field (…) and we know very well to whom we have to go, for example, CTA that is located down-stairs. (…) It’s always easy to call or meet.” (CAR_20). In this respect, also physical co-location facilitates communication and the development of trust-based linkages between STP resident companies and intermediaries. Especially at the Cartuja science park, a broad range of the relevant regional innovation promoting organizations, for example, CTA, Agency IDEA, CITAndalucía and FIDETIA, maintain offices (see Figure 43). Analogously, the Technologiestiftung Berlin (TSB) maintained an office at the Adlershof science park until 2010 (Expert interview with WISTA-MG, 15 January 2013).

In regard to the mediation of trust and the development of social proximity, respectively, between firms and scientific actors the interviewees also underscored the STP management’s role as official organizer of local networking events and conferences, enabling initial personal encounters and informal exchange with potentially suitable knowledge sources, and eventually the formation of new links. One company highlighted the management organization of the Cartuja science park in this regard: “Fundamentally, it’s been through personal contacts, but always under the umbrella of Cartuja 93 (…) with

distinct activities, events, conferences, talks etc. There, you’ll meet research groups and exchange ideas and opinions.“ (CAR_21). I also discussed the important influence of these two KNM instruments as temporary clusters organized at the two STPs in the previous sub-chapter. Overall, the findings in regard to the reduction of uncertainty and risks of deceptive behaviour in inter-organizational innovation processes relate to an additional important function of intermediaries that has been pointed out in multiple studies (e.g. Nooteboom, 2001; Battistella et al., 2016).²⁴¹

Figure 43: Agency IDEA at the Cartuja science park

Source: Author

The low influence of the TTO of the local universities HU-Berlin and University of Seville on STP resident firms’ linkages to academia was further validated in the qualitative interviews.

Most importantly, many interviewees articulated the TTO’s lacking capability to identify knowledge sources that meet a firm’s specialized knowledge demands: “Once, I asked the OTRI [TTO of the University of Seville], if they’d know persons in a certain technology. Two weeks later I got my very own email, if I’d knew somebody. They sent it throughout Spain and were asking, if anybody would know somebody in Seville, and that’s why I got it back.

241 Howells (2006) has also underlined the active support of the actual knowledge transfer and processing processes as one of the functions of intermediaries in the innovation process. However, this function was not mentioned in the interviews.

(...) When you’re looking for a person, and this are your experience, you will never try it this way again.” (CAR_10). Moreover, several firms underlined that the TTO typically focus on their university, thus being constrained to a limited variety of potential scientific knowledge sources. To illustrate, one interviewee remarked: “Finally, the TTO has got one problem that they are only locally oriented. Thus, they have a problem helping us regarding cooper-ation with (…) other research centres in other countries.” (CAR_26). Here, the more inde-pendent STP management companies and regional innovation promoting entities appear to be better equipped to facilitate the scanning and link creation to a broader range of scien-tific knowledge sources. In addition, several firms from the Adlershof science park in par-ticular made the low visibility of the university TTO and its services apparent. An interview statement made by an Adlershof resident firm illustrates this problem of the TTO of the HU-Berlin: “I have the concrete case at the moment that I need a partner that works with radio-active carbon (…). How do I do it? (…) Is there a partner at the HU-Berlin here that I can talk to in order to get an overview? I don’t know.” (ADL_21). In this regard, it is important to note that both universities’ TTO do not maintain a physical presence in the respective STP.

OTRI/STCE of the University of Seville is located in the city centre, while Humboldt-Innovation of the HU-Berlin is only represented through its pre-incubator SPIN-OFF Zone situated in the vicinity to the STP Adlershof (ca. 1 km) since mid 2010 (OTRI Universidad de Sevilla, 2013; HU-Berlin, 2010). Consequently, weak capabilities to find fitting scientific knowledge sources, as well as a lack of visibility in general are as the fundamental obsta-cles determining the weak intermediary function of the two university TTO overall. These findings also coincide with previous studies (e.g. Siegel et al., 2003c; Fritsch et al., 2007) that have identified lacking capabilities as major causes for university TTO’s ineffective-ness.

Overall, intermediaries, especially the two STP management organizations WISTA-MG and Cartuja 93, as well as specific regional innovation promoting entities facilitate the formation of knowledge relations between STP resident firms and academia to a considerable degree. The effectiveness of the intermediaries specified is strongly determined by the ability to 1) find appropriate academic partners and act as translators in order to obtain necessary cognitive proximity, as well as 2) to mediate crucial trust and technological reputation between formerly unconnected firms and local, as well as extral-local scientific institutions.