Factors Motivating Academicians for Industry Collaboration- A Qualitative Research

Abstract

While one party of academia-industry collaboration is composed of business entities, the other party is composed of academicians. Unless sufficient level of motivation is reached, academicians do not perform well and be successful within this collaboration. In this paper, effective factors in motivating academicians for industry collaboration are analyzed. For this purpose, in-depth interviews are conducted which is one of the techniques in Qualitative Research. The data collected form these in-depth interviews are analyzed in terms of Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory which is one of the content theories and the results are classified. Thus, motivation and hygiene factors that are effective in motivating academicians for industry collaboration are identified. Less course load and management’s support in terms of bureaucracy and administrative functions came to the front as prominent factors. The emerged motivation factors can be listed as being able to observe theoretical academic knowledge put into practice, gain recognition and access social circles, find an opportunity to update academic knowledge, transfer the knowledge gained from business life to students by supplementing classes, ensure grant and employment opportunities to students, discharge the responsibility to society, and have access to technical and social means that are not ensured by universities. For some academicians, while the facts of inclusion of academia-industry collaboration within academic promotion criteria and matter of financial gain act as a hygiene factor, for others they act as a motivation factor. In conclusion, taking aforementioned factorsinto account, works and studies to be performed in order to ease and develop industry collaboration are determined and it is suggested to conduct a quantitative research and develop a scale to detect the significance of these factors.