SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Res. Metr. Anal.
Sec. Research Methods
Mapping the conceptual structure of research on open innovation in university–industry collaborations: a bibliometric analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Fundación Universitaria Los Libertadores, Bogotá, Colombia
- 2Colegio de Estudios Superiores de Administracion, Bogotá, Colombia
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Introduction: Open innovation has become a central mechanism for enhancing university–industry collaboration (UIC), fostering the co-development of innovative and socially responsive solutions. As organizations increasingly embrace openness and knowledge-sharing practices, understanding the evolution of open innovation in university–industry collaboration (OIUIC) is critical amid accelerating digitalization and mounting sustainability imperatives. Methods: This review maps the conceptual structure of OIUIC research from 2003 to 2024 by applying co-word analysis and social network mapping to a dataset of 2,601 articles indexed in Scopus. We extracted and standardized 5,269 unique keywords, constructed co-word networks to identify thematic clusters, and deployed network metrics to reveal patterns of scholarly collaboration and influence. Results: The analysis uncovered five dominant keyword clusters: "technology transfer," "university– industry knowledge transfer (UIKT)," "knowledge transfer," "academic entrepreneurship," and "university," which collectively define the field's conceptual architecture. Geographically, the United Kingdom leads in publication output, while Research Policy and The Journal of Technology Transfer emerge respectively as the most cited and the most prolific journals. Network metrics further highlight key author and institution hubs that bridge thematic communities. Discussion: By synthesizing major themes and research clusters, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the OIUIC intellectual landscape. Our findings offer critical insights for researchers and policymakers, suggesting priority areas for future inquiry, such as digital transformation, sustainability integration and cross-regional partnership models, and informing evidence-based policy development to strengthen inclusive and adaptive innovation ecosystems.
Keywords: open innovation, University–industry collaboration, higher education, academicengagement, Co-word analysis
Received: 27 Aug 2025; Accepted: 11 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ballesteros-Ballesteros and Zarate-Torres. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Vladimir Alfonso Ballesteros-Ballesteros, vbballesteros@gmail.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.