The aim of our contribution is to explore the compatibility between teaching, research and commercial activities at the level of laboratories. The economy of science provides many quantitative studies about the impact of the commercialisation of science on research productivity (Breschi et al ., 2007 ; Stephan et al ., 2007 ; Azoulay et al ., 2009 ). Others studies explored the relation between research and teaching performance (Fox, 1992 ; Gander, 1995 ; Marsh and Hatie, 2002 ). An originality of this contribution is to explore simultaneously the compatibility between teaching, research and commercial activities.