A market positioning approach to university-industry collaboration in tourism

The dissemination and sharing of knowledge between universities and industry has long been recognised as problematic; this has also been identified as an issue for tourism. Despite the increased importance of external research funding and impactful research, there is often a reluctance amongst industry practitioners to collaborate with academics on research related projects. For those academic researchers and academic institutions seeking to pursue applied research opportunities and increase their engagement with industry, there is a need to understand what position they hold in the market. This paper sought to explore industry perceptions of academics and academic researchers and looks specifically at the tourism discipline. However, this study extends on previous research that has explored university-industry collaboration to incorporate image and market positioning. The market position of academics is discussed as an innovative approach to improving the perceptions of academics and their research in the minds of industry, providing greater confidence and trust, and thus creating pathways for increased knowledge transfer.