Estimating business value of academic research outcomes: towards a multi-dimensional approach

Abstract

As academic entrepreneurship develops, questions of business valuation of research become more important. Therefore, there is a need to develop methods for value assessment of academic research. Conventional business valuation models for technology are usually financially oriented and will only disclose its economic value. However, this under specifies the value of university-industry transactions. The value of an invention not only depends on economic value but also on strategic, cultural or social value added to the applicant of the invention: usually a company. We introduce gross business value, being a function over time of these four dimensions of value and propose to position this gross business value of an academic technological invention within a three-dimensional model, with the research value creation process on the X-axis, the type of research on the Y-axis and its contribution to the applicant's four types of capitals at the Z-axis.