THE COOPERATION UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY, SOCIAL NETWORKING AND THE DISSEMINATION OF KNOWLEDGE

Abstract

Universities are organizations that perform a very important role in contemporary societies through the promotion of education and generation of scientific and technological knowledge. Several efforts have been expended to approach universities and companies so that there is better use this knowledge as an element of economic and social development of regions and countries. This article aimed to analyze the factors that hinder the university-industry relationship from the perspective of managers in small and medium-sized technology-based companies, but also the contribution of social networks to minimize these difficulties. So, we decided to perform a qualitative research with companies located in the city of São José dos Campos. Managers of technology-based SMEs and industry representatives who maintain links with the Aeronautical Technology Institute were interviewed. The analysis and categorization of the data were performed by means of content analysis. As a result we found four major categories as main factors hindering the university-industry relationship: cultural differences, situations related to legal issues, institutional policies and economic-financial investment. It was also noticed the importance of weak links in social networks as part of a reduction of barriers in that relationship.