Ausschnitt aus dem Abstract:
"The research on transfer has become increasingly ramified and at the same time complex (cf. Miller / McAdam / McAdam 2016, Ankrah / AL-Tabbaa 2015). Moreover, a variety of definitions and concepts of knowledge and technology transfer confound the exchange between specialized fields (cf. Perkmann et al. 2013, Bozeman 2000). In this context, the paper has a dual purpose. Firstly, it explores the state of research on knowledge and technology transfer in higher education through reviews. Secondly, it reflects on reviews as a means of exploring a research field and on the feasibility of a meta-review as a shortcut. The research question addressed is: How do reviews contribute to the research field of knowledge and technology transfer in higher education? Over the years, both the number of publications on knowledge and technology transfer in higher education and the importance of reviews (cf. Tight 2019) have increased. By the end of 2023, the Web of Science database lists more than 5,000 articles on that topic, 142 of which are classified as reviews. However, to date, there has been no meta-review of these review articles, which illustrates the research gap that this paper aims to address. An example of a meta-review analysis of higher education research is given by Malcolm Tight (2019). The meta-review is based on a five-step analysis of systematic reviews (cf. Haas 2023). It includes a primarily descriptive scoping of characteristics such as authors, sources, years of publication, research areas, and affiliations, followed by an in-depth mapping of characteristics such as key concepts, theories, and methods. The research design, in particular the development of inclusion and exclusion criteria for the analysis, is documented in a PRISMA flowchart (cf. Page et al. 2021)."