SIMILARITIES OF SUCCESSFUL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER THROUGH NEW VENTURES

Abstract

Especially established industries, like the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, rely on effective and efficient technology transfer to maintain their competitiveness. Academic spin-offs, corporate spin-outs, and internal start-ups, as different types of new ventures, can be used for technology transfer from universities and research institutions to companies as well as between or within companies. Especially internal start-ups are a new approach for company internal technology transfer from research departments to business units. Based on 12 case studies from the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in Germany and Switzerland, which were identified and developed by narrative interviews with new ventures and parent organisations, like companies, universities, and research institutions, technology transfer through new ventures has been analysed. Despite the various backgrounds and challenges, the different types of new ventures show much more similarities than dissimilarities. Therefore, learnings from academic spin-offs can be transferred to corporate spin-outs and internal start-ups in the context of technology transfer.