Forecasting the Acquisition of University Spin-Outs: An RBF Neural Network Approach

Weiwei Liu,Zhile Yang,Kexin Bi

doi:10.1155/2017/6920904

Abstract

University spin-outs (USOs), creating businesses from university intellectual property, are a relatively common phenomena. As a knowledge transfer channel, the spin-out business model is attracting extensive attention. In this paper, the impacts of six equities on the acquisition of USOs, including founders, university, banks, business angels, venture capitals, and other equity, are comprehensively analyzed based on theoretical and empirical studies. Firstly, the average distribution of spin-out equity at formation is calculated based on the sample data of 350 UK USOs. According to this distribution, a radial basis function (RBF) neural network (NN) model is employed to forecast the effects of each equity on the acquisition. To improve the classification accuracy, the novel set-membership method is adopted in the training process of the RBF NN. Furthermore, a simulation test is carried out to measure the effects of six equities on the acquisition of USOs. The simulation results show that the increase of university’s equity has a negative effect on the acquisition of USOs, whereas the increase of remaining five equities has positive effects. Finally, three suggestions are provided to promote the development and growth of USOs.

Highlights

Universities have the functions of talents training and scientific research
To improve the classification accuracy, the novel set-membership method is adopted in the training process of the radial basis function (RBF) neural network (NN)
It is demonstrated that the increases of founders, financial providers, and other equity are conducive to the acquisition of University spin-outs (USOs), and banks’ equity is the most influential factor for the acquisition

Summary

Introduction

Universities have the functions of talents training and scientific research. Universities are requested to make contributions to their region’s economic development by promoting effective university-industry relationships to exploit and commercialize research discoveries. Exploiting scientific and technological developments in universities is a main theme in economic and industrial policy [1]. This study incorporates RBF NN to investigate the impacts of equity distribution on the acquisition of USOs, aiming to deliver quantitative references for policymakers, founders, and financing providers to promote the development and growth of USOs. Three major contributions of this study are concluded as follows:. (3) The simulation results confirm the effects of six equities on the acquisition of USOs and provide quantitatively management decision references for policymakers, founders, universities, financial providers, and so forth.

Literature Review

Data and Methodology

Results and Discussions

Conclusions and Suggestions