Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Analysing the bidirectionality of non-academic collaborations and scientific teams productivity

Abstract Collaboration between universities and non-academic organisations plays a vital role in addressing current societal demands. This study explored how such partnerships influence the productivity of traditional academic research by focusing on public universities and scientific teams. It examined the bidirectionality between scientific output and non-academic collaboration and the moderating effect of team knowledge diversity. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis on a sample of 277 Spanish scientific teams confirmed the bidirectional link between research productivity and non-academic collaborations—represented by an inverted U-shaped curve—and revealed a surprising negative moderating effect of team knowledge diversity. These results offer valuable insights for networks and research team management, particularly in balancing research productivity and academic engagement with society through non-academic collaborations.