Discussion of findings and implications for theory and practice

Abstract

Having presented the study’s major empirical findings in the previous section, the following paragraphs serve to critically discuss these findings and derive theoretical and practical implications. In order to enhance readability and facilitate understanding, the major results are briefly summarized in each subsection before being discussed. Where appropriate, the results of the statistical analyses are supplemented by additional data and respondents’ remarks and comments given in free text answer fields. The chapter begins with a discussion of information on the sample and descriptive statistics, pointing at discipline-specific features of collaborative R&D projects in the chemical and biological sciences. In the further course of the section, the results of the multivariate analyses will be discussed in the order of the underlying hypotheses. Subsequently, practical implications for academia, industry and research policy are presented. The chapter concludes by pointing out the study’s limitations and offering suggestions for future research opportunities.