The competition for industry research funding: How satisfied are university commercial research clients?

Constrained public funding for universities and the emphasis placed on university-industry interactions mean that universities are increasingly required to compete for industrial funds for research. This in turn means that universities need to develop a customer service culture in order to be competitive and attractive to industry. Many studies examine industry-university relationships, their importance and ways to improve interactions but publications examining customer service quality in the context of the provision of university research services or technology transfer services to industry are lacking. This article recommends a modified SERVQUAL (service quality survey instrument) approach and the survey results identify several opportunities for improved service delivery practice.