Flux and flexibility : a comparative institutional analysis of evolving university-industry relationships in MIT, Cambridge and Tokyo

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2002.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hatakenaka, Sachi, 1961-
Other Authors: Lotte Bailyn and D. Eleanor Westney.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2005
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8434
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author Hatakenaka, Sachi, 1961-
author2 Lotte Bailyn and D. Eleanor Westney.
author_facet Lotte Bailyn and D. Eleanor Westney.
Hatakenaka, Sachi, 1961-
author_sort Hatakenaka, Sachi, 1961-
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description Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2002.
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spelling mit-1721.1/84342019-04-09T17:13:19Z Flux and flexibility : a comparative institutional analysis of evolving university-industry relationships in MIT, Cambridge and Tokyo Hatakenaka, Sachi, 1961- Lotte Bailyn and D. Eleanor Westney. Sloan School of Management. Sloan School of Management. Sloan School of Management. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2002. Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-293). University-industry relationships are in a state of flux. They represent important strategic issues for universities, for industry, and for governments alike. This confluence of interests has led to experimentation in which universities and industry seek to work together, often with strong government support. And yet partnerships are not easy. Academics and industrialists live in two different worlds, and universities are not known for their organizational flexibility. Some universities appear to change flexibly, while others change more slowly and with difficulty. The purpose of this dissertation is three-fold: to identify the nature of change taking place in university-industry relationships; to understand the underlying factors that influence that change; and to explore the underlying process of change. Three cases of MIT, Cambridge University, and Tokyo University are examined to compare their experiences in developing new types of university-industry relationships. I argue that internal and external organizational boundaries have influenced the evolution of the new types of relationships, and that the three universities have defined these boundaries differently. MIT's regulated external boundaries permitted close but bounded relationships with industry, but, on the other hand, its one-way permeable internal boundaries enabled its administration to amplify and institutionalize initiatives. This is contrasted with Cambridge's fuzzy boundaries, which appeared to elicit deeper and more informal and personal relationships in specific local settings. Tokyo's apparently impermeable boundaries, in contrast, led both to formal arm's length relationships as well as to informal but closer and invisible relationships (cont.) The emergence of these relationships has not been a mechanical and deterministic process. Individuals have played an active and important role through "storytelling" to persuade different players to participate in the new relationships. Individuals also developed individual sub-stories that explained the rationale for their own participation. I argue that there are three different types of compatibility between role-stories as told by the players: individual role compatibility, partnership compatibility and organizational compatibility. I then argue that it is these three types of compatibility that have determined the overall strengths of the new behavioral patterns, their ultimate sustainability over time and their replicability across space: by Sachi Hatakenaka. Ph.D. 2005-08-23T20:09:15Z 2005-08-23T20:09:15Z 2002 2002 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8434 50650276 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 293 p. 30511548 bytes 30511309 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Sloan School of Management.
Hatakenaka, Sachi, 1961-
Flux and flexibility : a comparative institutional analysis of evolving university-industry relationships in MIT, Cambridge and Tokyo
title Flux and flexibility : a comparative institutional analysis of evolving university-industry relationships in MIT, Cambridge and Tokyo
title_full Flux and flexibility : a comparative institutional analysis of evolving university-industry relationships in MIT, Cambridge and Tokyo
title_fullStr Flux and flexibility : a comparative institutional analysis of evolving university-industry relationships in MIT, Cambridge and Tokyo
title_full_unstemmed Flux and flexibility : a comparative institutional analysis of evolving university-industry relationships in MIT, Cambridge and Tokyo
title_short Flux and flexibility : a comparative institutional analysis of evolving university-industry relationships in MIT, Cambridge and Tokyo
title_sort flux and flexibility a comparative institutional analysis of evolving university industry relationships in mit cambridge and tokyo
topic Sloan School of Management.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8434
work_keys_str_mv AT hatakenakasachi1961 fluxandflexibilityacomparativeinstitutionalanalysisofevolvinguniversityindustryrelationshipsinmitcambridgeandtokyo