Social Networks as an Approach to the Enhancement of Collaboration among Universities and Corporate Research and Development

Private use of online social networks is exceedingly popular. In business environments web services of such kind are not likewise exploited. Yet corporate online social networks do encourage socialization among co-workers and add value to a business. With regard to research and development such social capital gain may have immense positive effects on the innovative strength of a firm. Extended corporate networking with universities and affiliated research institutes seems obvious and beneficial. The intensive transfer of knowledge will not only co-ordinate market demand and theoretical findings but can also assist corporate and academic recruiting as both sides gain a deeper insight in the expertise of potential candidates. In this paper, we will introduce an online social network for research & development that helps to bridge the gap between researchers at universities and enterprises.