Research institutions serve as a vital pillar of the national strategic science and technology force in science and technology, and their technology transfer performance plays a significant role in the national innovation system. Technology transfer services are an essential catalyst in transforming scientific research outputs into social benefits. However, existing studies, mainly focusing on universities and enterprises, have largely overlooked how the scientific and technological achievement transformation services of research institutions influence technology transfer performance.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is a key research institution in China’s innovation activities, with extensive exploration and practice in technology transfer. CAS is a representative case for research institutions’ technology transfer. Its intellectual property commissioner system plays an important role in the protection, transformation, and utilization of intellectual property by providing professional and efficient talent protection and intellectual property services. Therefore, this study focuses on intellectual property commissioners within the Chinese Academy of Sciences and utilizes data collected through a questionnaire survey. It examines the impact and underlying mechanisms of scientific and technological achievements transformation service capabilities on technology transfer performance, distinguishing between two dimensions: basic value-added service capacity and commercial operation service capacity. It also examines the moderating effect of organizational support on the relationship between these two aspects.

Our findings indicate that both basic value-added service capability and commercial operation service capability have significant positive effects on technology transfer performance, with the effect of commercial operation service capability demonstrating a more pronounced impact. The quality of scientific and technological achievements plays a partial mediating role between both types of service capabilities and technology transfer performance. Organizational support is found to positively moderate the relationships between commercial operation service capabilities and the quality of scientific and technological achievements, as well as technology transfer performance.

We contribute to existing research in the following ways. First, we expand the existing literature on technology transfer by analyzing the impact of technology transfer service capabilities on the technology transfer performance of research institutions, and considering the differentiated effects of different service capabilities. This broadens the micro perspective of technology transfer and provides a theoretical research framework for future studies. Second, we explain the mechanisms through which technology transfer service capabilities affect technology transfer performance, thus expanding the channels through which these capabilities operate in the technology transfer process. Third, we incorporate the organizational support, an organizational factor, into the analytical framework between scientific and technological achievements transformation service capabilities and technology transfer, clarifying the conditions under which scientific and technological achievements transformation service capabilities influence technology transfer performance.

In the context of the national innovation-driven development strategy, these findings not only provide theoretical insights for optimizing the allocation of scientific and technological resources and enhancing the technology transfer performance of research institutions through service capabilities, but also offer empirical evidence for policy-making, which has important theoretical significance and practical value. On one hand, research institutions should strengthen the service capabilities of their intellectual property personnel, especially commercial operation service capabilities. In addition, research institutions should place emphasis on improving the quality of scientific and technological achievements. On the other hand, government and research institutions should optimize organizational support mechanisms to foster an organizational environment conducive to technology transfer.