Perceived benefits of a knowledge transfer office A multiple case study on SSHA researchers from Radboud University

Abstract

Previous studies on knowledge transfer (KT) in Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts (SSHA) are lacking and little attention is paid to the researchers’ perception of the KT process. The purpose of this research was to find out what determines the perceived benefits of a knowledge transfer office (KTO) for SSHA-researchers that engage in KT. A qualitative multiple case study was conducted in which ten SSHA researchers from the Radboud University were interviewed about their engagement in KT activities. From these researchers, eight had consulted a KTO. The results show that researchers are motivated to engage in KT activities for several reasons, of which contributing to society, research and career related reasons were found most frequently. Motivations were sometimes similar and sometimes different from the perceived benefits of KT. It appears that the type, moment, and degree of a KTO’s involvement, the perceived KTO quality and the KT activity determine the researchers’ perception of benefits of a KTO when engaging in KT. From the findings, useful indicators for motivations to engage in KT, benefits of KT, type and degree of KTO involvement and KTO quality are derived.