Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2018

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management, School of Management

It is generally accepted that innovativeness is critical to a firm's success and survival in a competitive business environment. Proximity to knowledge producer is often seen as one important factor which contributes to firm innovativeness. This study examines the effects of multidimensional proximity to public university/public research institute (PRI) on firm innovativeness. Furthermore, this study also evaluates the effect of knowledge interaction as a mediating variable on firm innovativeness. The result of this study is concluded from a questionnaire survey of the R&D or new product development managers in manufacturing firms in Thailand that had been identified as innovative in the 2Thailand Innovation Survey 20123. The hypothesized relationships in this research were evaluated by the Structural Equation Modeling techniques (SEM). The findings confirm that geographical proximity alone is insufficient condition to foster the interaction between firms and universities/PRIs. Moreover, proximities between firms and universities/PRIs indirectly enhance the innovativeness of firms through the knowledge interaction. The closeness in terms of social relation and technological knowledge base are more important factors that influence the knowledge interaction between firm and universities/PRIs than the geographical closeness in terms of physical location. As for managerial implications, the findings may help the corporate R&D and new product development managers in making appropriate choices of strategic partners. For universities/PRIs, our finding also may help the presidents/executives in developing policies to encourage their researchers to engage in research collaboration that supports the industrial partner{u2019}s innovativeness