The research literature on university–private partnerships shows that these partnerships can contribute significantly to the building of a knowledge-based economy. At the heart of this contribution is the practice of knowledge transfer. Through the analytical lens of social capital theory, this paper reports on a systematic review of 23 studies, from 2000 to 2021, on partnerships between universities and private sector organisations. The findings reveal inconsistencies in knowledge transfer, especially from the perspective of the cognitive frame of this theory. Based on these findings, a more rigorous theoretical framework is proposed for the enhancement of knowledge transfer in such partnerships, as moderated by the intermediary factor, and future research directions are suggested.

Literature has recognised 'university-private partnerships' as one of the influential contributors to the economic growth towards building the knowledgebased economy.University-private partnerships is still a progressing phenomenon that has been investigated through the lens of different theories, including the social capital theory that comprises structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions.To date, the influence of social capital theory on transferring knowledge has been investigated; but there has been an inconsistency between studies related to the social capital cognitive dimension compared to other related dimensions.This paper aims to explore how the theoretical lens of social capital theory informs research and learnings about partnerships between universities and private sectors.Overall, 23 studies published within the last two decades are systematically reviewed.Findings from this review lead to a fundamental theoretical framework that addresses the abovementioned inconsistency, a reflection on the current related research themes, and a proposition for future research directions.

Previous studies on university-industry collaboration have shown a number of different barriers that affect transferring knowledge through such collaborations. From the cognitive dimension of the social capital theory perspective, this paper explores barriers to knowledge transfer activities through the collaboration between university and industry and how intermediaries contribute to mitigating these barriers. By applying the qualitative research method, a total of 40 semi-structured interviews were conducted, targeting academics and practitioners across the various universities, industries, and intermediary organisations in Saudi Arabia. A thematic analysis of the data was then employed using MAXQDA 2022 software. Based on the findings, this paper contributes to the extant university-industry collaboration literature by providing insights into critical challenges that can be addressed to improve collaborative inter-organisation relationships. Additionally, these insights can also guide related partners in maintaining a successful collaboration.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seeks to have at least five universities in the top 200 of international rankings by 2030; which urges academics to develop strong research partnerships with the private sector. Furthermore, the intermediary company has emerged in several universities to facilitate knowledge transfer processes between universities and the private sector mutually. Nevertheless, despite the growing awareness of the importance of research partnership, studies stressed that current partnerships’ level is relatively low. Thus, there is a need to investigate this issue further. Besides, there is a need to in-depth analyse the gender-difference to understand the phenomenon. Accordingly, this mixed-methods study aims to examine the influence of social capital theory factors on the knowledge transfer process, with the existence of the intermediary company between public universities and private sector during the Engagement phase in Saudi Arabia based on the perspectives of the leaders’ gender.