The 2011 Collaborative Innovation Plan, University-Industry Collaboration and Achievement Transformation of Universities: Evidence from China

Achievement transformation combines science and technology with the economy effectively. Governments from different countries have formulated lots of policies in order to foster university-industry collaboration (UIC) and achievement transformation. Based on the perspective of universities, this paper studies the impact of “The 2011 Collaborative Innovation Center Construction and Development Plan” (the 2011 Plan) of China on UIC and achievement transformation by using a regression discontinuity design (RD). The influence mechanism of university heterogeneity, such as different types of university and source of R&D funding, on the relationship between UIC and achievement transformation are further discussed. The research shows that “the 2011 Plan” triggers the jumping development of UIC and achievement transformation. The UIC of application-oriented universities exerts a higher impact on achievement transformation compared to research-oriented universities. Besides, the effect of government funding on the relationship between UIC and achievement transformation is greater than that of enterprise funding.