Academic spin-offs for the local economy growth

Abstract

Some research supports the suggestion that start-ups can represent a driver in job creation, economic growth, innovation and competitiveness. In the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan and in the Action Plan on Building a Capital Market Union (2015), one of the main actions is promoting entrepreneurship, to support financing innovation for start-ups, to develop a capital market able to stimulate new business and their growth. Policy makers support start-ups and the university promote its 3rd mission, technology transfer, with a policy of new businesses, with academic spin-offs (ASOs). Academic spin-offs can produce direct and indirect benefits on local economies, but these companies encounter many difficulties to develop. The difficulties of access to finance and lack of managerial skills are the main constraints of growth identified in literature. In the paper, we describe the results of an empirical research on spin–offs of the University of Pisa, with the purpose to capture both the benefits generated in the local area and their contribution to relation capital of the university, but also their difficulties in growth. We found that academic spin-offs have produced important effects on local economies, especially with new jobs, but they reveal some criticisms of financial management behavior, which hampers their development. In the conclusion, we debate about the role of the Capital market Union actions by promoting “financing for innovation” for the growth of academic spin-offs.