EXPLORING SUCCESS FACTORS IN TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. THE CASE OF A UNIVERSITY RESEARCH GROUP.

The particularities that permit to a research entity to improve its volume of technology transfer and make the difference between performances in terms of income, are the ones analyzed in this paper.

Four levels of success factors are identified and each category contains different elements. Environmental level success factors, macro-level success factors, micro-level success factors and individual level success factors are deeply described and supported by the literature. New possible elements are identified and described.

Environmental level identified elements are: regional environment and innovation policies. Macro-level elements correspond to: university organization: vision, mission and policies, Technology Transfer Office (TTO): organization, structure and experience, macro-level incentive systems and location. The micro-level ones refer to: research topic and research type, micro-level incentive systems, group leadership, and group innovation culture and group network. And, finally, individual level factors are motivation for technology transfer, academic culture, involvement, uncertainty and attitude towards risk.

Eight propositions about the cited elements have been presented in order to detect synergies between success factors and to be able to make recommendations to potential users, more specifically research teams with potential growth on technology transfer.
ViCOROB (Computer Vision and Robotics) research group was founded in 1992 in the University of Girona (Spain). The potential growth of the team on technology transfer performance was detected by the government, therefore, in 2008, the group started a new policy in research that included: research management (a new quality standard, strategic planning as well as commercial planning, project management) and an internal public relations plan. The growth was espectacular in the first and second year and is expected to increment exponentially the third annuality, after applying such methodologies.