Universities and independent research institutions can often be large and complex organisations that need to be flexible and adaptable to continuous change (Navarro & Gallardo, 2003). Indeed universities are required to meet the needs of various stakeholders through providing academic services involving the delivery of education and in the case of research intensive universities, this also includes undertaking research. Furthermore, knowledge exchange activities result in the translation of knowledge and research outcomes into commercial benefits for partners or societal benefits for wider stakeholders (Philbin, 2015). In this context universities have increasingly been viewed as occupying a strategic role through stimulating innovation and economic growth through technology transfer and the resulting commercial exploitation of intellectual property (Hughes & Kitson, 2012).