Purpose – The research purpose is to analyse when and how innovation support programmes (ISPs) can affect collaboration between universities and established small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The paper specifically considers SME’s absorptive capacity. Design/methodology/approach – A Swedish research centre is studied in the context of innovation support and two of its SME-ISPs are examined with regards to industry–university collaboration and impact on firm innovation capabilities. Data collection and analysis are performed, using interviews, survey answers, document search and reflectional analysis to evaluate processes and effects of the centre and the programmes. Findings – A developed research centre, integrated into both academia and industry, can support translational collaboration and promote SME innovation absorptive capacity. The action learning elements and the organisational development approaches used when coaching in the ISPs contribute to the SMEs internal absorption capacity and collaborational skills. Organising collaboration into ISPs can provide a relational path to future collaboration with universities, which, for example start with student projects. Research limitations/implications – The study, though limited to one Swedish region, adds to empirical innovation research as it connects industry–university collaboration and absorptive capacity to organisational learning. Practical implications – The empirical results indicate possible long-term gains for industry and universities in building collaborative innovation into SME-ISPs. Originality/value – The contribution of this study pertains to the practice of innovation support for established SMEs with the inclusion of absorption capacity and collaborative innovation development.

中文翻译：

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通过创新支持计划建立中小企业与大学的合作

目的——研究目的是分析创新支持计划 (ISP) 何时以及如何影响大学与成熟的中小企业 (SME) 之间的合作。本文专门考虑了中小企业的吸收能力。设计/方法/方法——瑞典研究中心在创新支持的背景下进行了研究，并就产学合作和对公司创新能力的影响研究了其中的两个 SME-ISP。进行数据收集和分析，使用访谈、调查答案、文件搜索和反思分析来评估中心和计划的过程和效果。研究结果——一个成熟的研究中心，融入学术界和工业界，可以支持转化合作并促进中小企业创新吸收能力。在 ISP 辅导时使用的行动学习元素和组织发展方法有助于 SME 的内部吸收能力和协作技能。将合作组织到 ISP 中可以为未来与大学的合作提供一条关系路径，例如从学生项目开始。研究局限性/影响——该研究虽然仅限于一个瑞典地区，但增加了实证创新研究，因为它将产学合作和吸收能力与组织学习联系起来。实际意义——实证结果表明，工业和大学在将协作创新融入中小企业-互联网服务提供商方面可能会获得长期收益。