Interorganisational relationship among government, industry and academia in the Japanese public water services: Compatibility and motivation in interorganisational settings

This study analyses government-industry-academia collaboration in Japan from the view point of compatibility and motivating factors to collaborate among partners. The primary purpose of this study is to find out the strategic motivating factors of government in the government-industry-academia collaboration. This study investigates the strategic motivation by assessing the factors of takeout incentives, in-house incentives, exploration and exploitation. A theoretical model that includes these factors is tested using 2009 data collected from public water supply services in Japan (n = 685). As a result, it is made clear that the in-house incentives represented by the 'advantages for the growth of the waterworks industry' and the 'advantages for future water supply' are linked to the outcome represented by 'water supply revenue trends' through the mediation of government leadership. Considering the results of this study, it is understood that the strategic motivation are not directly related to government-industry-academia collaboration outcomes, but rather it is the leadership of government leadership that is important for the outcomes.