<p>University–Industry Collaboration (UIC) is an important mechanism for technology transfer and innovation, yet many firms remain only superficially engaged despite formal partnerships and policy support. Existing research has mainly explained this problem through structural and institutional factors, while paying less attention to how collaboration conditions are interpreted by enterprise decision makers. Drawing on Symbiosis Theory (ST) and Self Determination Theory (SDT), this study examines whether and how perceived collaboration structure imbalance is associated with enterprise passive participation behavior. Using survey data from 420 enterprises involved in regional technology transfer, with one key informant representing each firm, we test a moderated mediation model. The results show that perceived collaboration structure imbalance is positively associated with enterprise passive participation behavior and negatively associated with psychological need satisfaction. Psychological need satisfaction, encompassing autonomy, competence, and relatedness, is negatively associated with passive participation and significantly mediates this relationship. It also significantly moderates the relationship, such that the positive association between perceived structural imbalance and passive participation becomes stronger when psychological need satisfaction is low. By highlighting managerial perception as an important mechanism linking governance conditions to enterprise engagement, this study contributes to research on UIC and technology transfer governance. The findings suggest that universities and Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) should move beyond formal coordination alone and pay greater attention to procedural fairness, capability recognition, and relational balance in order to support more meaningful and sustained enterprise participation.</p>