Introduction

Successful technology commercialization requires the integration of multiple perspectives and collaboration of experts from very different backgrounds. More often than not, key individuals in the process reside in different organizational units – each with their own mission, agenda, and culture. In large corporations, successful commercialization ultimately depends on coordination of marketing, legal, and research and development (R&D) personnel distributed across the firm. And, as innovation systems become more open, large and small companies alike increasingly collaborate with nonprofit institutions, either for technological expertise or as a source of inventions themselves (Chesbrough, 2003; Thursby, Thursby, & Fuller, 2009).