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W-21To Join or Not to Join: Individual and Sub-organizational Factors AffectingIndustry Membership in University-based Cooperative Research CentersDrew Rivers, North Carolina State University, USAWhile most university-based cooperative research centers (CRCs) receive funding from the government, maintaining a high levelof industrial support is critical to the survival for many of these ventures (e.g., the National Science Foundation's I/UCRCprogram). However, the literature is almost silent on the effectiveness of various recruitment strategies and the decision makingprocesses and evaluation criteria that industrial firms use when deciding whether to join or decline participation in a CRC. Thisabstract summarizes a multi-stage project that involved a survey with CRC directors about marketing practices, and bothinterview and survey methods with industry decision makers who had recently participated in a decision to either join or declineCRC participation.According to Cohen, Florida, and Goe (1994), approximately 1200 industry-university cooperative centers existed in the U.S. in1993. Although these estimates have not been updated recently, the general consensus is that CRCs have grown in numbersince this study was completed and that CRCs continue to be the primary mechanism for industry to support universityresearch. There is strong evidence to support the value of these entities to universities, industry and government (e.g., Feller,Ailes, & Roessner, 2002).While many CRCs also receive funding from the government, maintaining a high level of industrial support helps ensures theirlong-term survival. For instance, for NSF Industry University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRCs) receive the majority oftheir financial support from industry (Gray & Walters, 1998). For NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERCs), the substantialgovernment support ERCs receive is conditioned on attracting and maintaining a high level of industrial support and involvement.Not surprisingly given this situation, center directors for one government-funded program have rated the topic "recruitment andretention of members" the first or second most important topic for discussion at their annual meeting every year for the past twodecades. Clearly, CRC directors, university officials, federal sponsors of CRC programs, policy makers, corporate strategiststrying to exploit the new "open innovation paradigm" and scholars interested in cooperative research have a vested interest inlearning more about the factors that affect firm participation in these cooperative research ventures.The relevant empirical literature on cooperative research covers a range of collaborative arrangements, from strategic alliancesand industry-based consortia to industry-university cooperative research. Studies that directly assessed differences betweenjoint research participants and non-participants are limited, with most studies sampling from current members and focusing oneither relationship processes (e.g., Doz, Olk, & Ring, 2000), relationship intensity (e.g., Santoro & Chakrabarti, 2002), orbenefits realized by participants (e.g., Lee, 2000). Few studies have explicitly compared participating and non-participatingfirms. In these cases however, the outcome variable targeted participation in joint research in general (e.g., Hayton, Sehili, &Scarpella, unpublished manuscript; Adams, Chiang, & Starkey, 2001), rather than a specific collaborative engagement and theorganizational processes and factors influencing the decision to participate.The current study applied a mixed methods approach to identify factors within organizations that could explain how industryuniversitypartnerships happen. Two preliminary studies were conducted to explore pre-collaborative exchanges between universitybasedCRCs and their prospective member organizations. These first two stages of research revealed underlying communitiesof university researchers, industrial technologists, and government scientists. Within these communities reside networks ofactors engaged in dynamic relationship exchanges that propagate formal partnership considerations. Further, semi-structuredinterviews with organization representatives brought to light a varied and often increasingly elaborate process regarding decisionsto partner with university-based CRCs.The final stage of research administered a structured survey to a sample of industrial and public organizations. Study participantswere asked about factors related to their respective organization's recent decision regarding membership in an NSF I/UCRC.The decision process is described as it unfolds within organizations considering CRC membership. Further, a series of regressionmodels identified the unique and relative effects of decision outcome predictors across several domains of analysis. I foundsupport for network-based perspectives on the development of industry-university partnerships. However, the influence of networkrelationships rested primarily on the initiation of the partnering decision. Technical and non-technical characteristics of theCRC, as well as sub-organizational and individual variables, were found to be most predictive of actual decision outcomes.Implications of this research for CRC directors, prospective member organizations, and policymakers are offered.Madrid, October 20, 21 & 22 - 2010283