A model for the flow of knowledge for communication between university and industry

Solving problematic issues in an effective communication among universities and industries has encouraged researchers to study the problem and develop solutions for it. Presented solutions fall into one of the three approach categories which are pragmatic, organ-based, and nature-based. Since all these approaches are necessary for the flow of knowledge from university to industry, a successful solution must support all three approaches on one hand, and be based on knowledge management solutions on the other hand. In this paper first ten different models of knowledge flow which have been previously developed for communication between university and industry are compared. The comparison of the results show that none of the current knowledge flow models can consider all the approaches. Hence, in this paper, first, a conceptual framework for knowledge flow modeling is presented through which a comprehensive view of knowledge flow modeling can be developed. This model is a six by six matrix. The rows of the matrix are the views of inter-organization, organization, group, role, individual, and machine. The columns are the aspects of why, what, who, how, when and where. Next, using this framework a knowledge flow model for communication between university and industry is designed. This model is based on market knowledge and includes various university and industry organs along with another organ to monitor and support the knowledge flow. In this model twenty seven types of knowledge flow have been clarified, the occurrence of each implies a knowledge transaction. The two sides of the transaction are a seller and a buyer of knowledge package who, depending on the manner by which knowledge flow begins, participate in a tender or an auction.