Creation Of University Spin-offs Research Articles

Analysis of the conditions for the creation of pharmaceutical university spin-offs within a public university in Burkina Faso

This study aimed to analyze the legal framework for the creation of university spinoffs, particularly those in the fields of medicine and pharmacy in Burkina Faso. This was carried out through a literature review, supplemented by interviews with resource persons from the sectors in charge of commerce, industry, finance, scientific research and innovation, health, and youth.
 In Burkina Faso, there are no specific provisions for promoting university spinoffs. A Simplified Joint Stock Company is the most appropriate legal form for these types of companies. Moreover, these laws do not favor the mobility of researchers in entrepreneurship. In addition, university spinoffs are subject to the same tax pressure as conventional companies. Nevertheless, the University of Joseph KI-ZERBO supported project leaders through its incubator. However, its lack of status, insufficient material, and financial resources limit its actions.

Exploring the entrepreneurial landscape of university-industry collaboration on public university spin-off creation: A systematic literature review

Research into the factors influencing university-industry collaboration on public university spin-offs creation has focused on management, entrepreneurship, technology and innovation. This research began with a careful systematic literature review of 4427 scientific papers published in the last ten years (2014–2023) and accessible in the prestigious Web of Science core collection. A quantitative methodology was used, complemented by the use of the visual analysis tool Posit PBC™, formerly known as R Cloud Studio. This comprehensive approach facilitated the seamless ingestion of raw data into Biblioshyni, which is a web-based platform specialised in bibliometric analysis. This review has revealed compelling trends, particularly in terms of increasing diversity, the emergence of United Kingdom as a major player, and the central role of university-industry collaboration. Our systematic review identified influential authors in the field, including the prolific contributions of scholars such as D. Radicid, S. Ropers, Y. Li and R. Owen. We also identified important research institutions, such as Utrecht University in Netherlands, Lund University in Sweden and The University of Manchester in the UK. In addition, we have shown that countries such as the United Kingdom, China and USA have made a significant contribution to the volume of publications. The results highlighted a marked increase in the phenomenon of univeristy spin-offs over the past decade, as evidenced by the exponential growth in both publication output and citation rates. This empirical revelation was underpinned by a rigorous exploration of the Web of Science database, using a carefully crafted set of keywords. Thirty-seven pivotal studies were selected for in-depth review through a sophisticated selection process that adhered to the rigorous standards of the PRISMA methodology. The aim of this review is to improve understanding and encourage deeper exploration of spin-off-based public universities through collaboration between academia and industry.

Beyond the good and the right: Rethinking the ethics of academic entrepreneurship from a relational perspective

This paper critically reviews the ethical resonance of the academic entrepreneurship (AE) phenomenon in light of contemporary concerns about ethics and responsibility in public engagements with science, technology and the commercialisation of technological discoveries through the creation of university spin-offs. In this context, we address the question of how we can know when we may consider AE as being ethical. We draw on the works on ethics of the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur ̶ one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century ̶ to provide an answer which encompasses but also goes beyond the association of ethics solely with ‘good’ purposes or ‘right’ norms to value it in each situation by paying special attention to how academic entrepreneurs behave in their relationships with others. We conclude that it is the manner and quality of open, generous, meaningful and appropriate ‘self-regulation’ that defines academic entrepreneurs as ethical individuals. The paper helps to improve the understanding of ethics in this field and may also illuminate academic entrepreneurs and university policymakers seeking to improve qualitative outcomes in university spin-offs.

Examining the impact of university-industry collaborations on spin-off creation: Evidence from joint patents

The literature on entrepreneurship and technology transfer highlights several factors that impact the creation of university Spin-Offs. However, there is a limited body of research that specifically explores the impact of university-industry collaborations on the performance creation of these spinoffs. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the effects of university-industry collaborations on the creation of Spin-Offs from two perspectives: the number of university collaborations with different companies and the number of previous collaborations between the same university-industry dyad. The research employs joint patents as a source to measure the university-industry collaborations and statistical methods to empirically examine the impact of these collaborations on Spin-Off creation. The study is based on data from 108 universities between the years 2014 and 2017. The findings of this study reveal that both the number of collaborations and specially the presence of previous collaborations between the university and industry have a positive effect on the creation of Spin-Offs. These results suggest that universities and companies should consider these findings when formulating their strategies or policies for technology transfer and innovation management by encouraging university-industry collaborations.

LA ENTREPRENEURIAL UNIVERSITY: TOOLS AND MODELS FOR INTEGRATING THE THIRD MISSION IN EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

University spinoffs have remarkably strengthened the linkage between universities and industry. The number of technology patents and spinoffs coming out of university research has a significant impact on regional economic and social development. To further highlight the importance of university spinoffs, the article aims to review available literature on university spinoffs and present a comprehensive overview of what university spinoffs are, why they are important, what makes them significant, and how they are or can be created. In addition to reviewing existing models of University spinoff creation, the authors propose a new, multi-stage, holistic model.
 The authors explore how universities can promote new research-based businesses by suggesting that the nature of the supplied support depends on demands of spin-off companies. Adopting a demand-side perspective, the authors seek to understand the challenges faced by new technology businesses and hence identify how universities can assist their start-up and development.
 The paper nuances the common conception of a university as one uniform entity in relation
 to spin-offs, and assesses the literature including all levels within the university. The analysis of EU spin-off models, activities, methodologies and policies is based on the outcomes of the ERASMUS+ project “University-Enterprise Cooperation via Spin-Off Companies Network (UNISON)”.

Barriers to University Spin-Off Creation in an Emerging Context: An Institutional Theory of Organizations Approach

The present study contributes elements to the literature for the understanding of those institutional factors of organizations that promote the creation of spin-offs in universities. Institutional barriers to spin-off creation within universities are addressed from a qualitative perspective. The study was carried out in Colombia, a country with low levels of innovation and entrepreneurship. Purposive and snowball sampling were employed to identify experts. Participants were selected in accordance with their extensive experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, or technology transfer. The sample size was decided by saturation criteria, and 15 interviews were selected with this method. The semi-structured interview was chosen for information collection, and a thematic analysis was employed for data interpretation. Several aspects which permit suggestions for the future spin-off research agenda were identified: perceptions of the university, teaching focus, academic cultures that reward publication as a means of knowledge transfer, restrictions for public university spin-offs in developing countries, few economic and non-economic incentives for entrepreneurship, trust as a determining cultural characteristic, and limitations to the understanding of the spin-off concept that affect their creation. These results may be extrapolated to Latin America and other developing regions with similar entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Skills and Their Influence on the Entrepreneurial Intention of Academics

The promotion of academic entrepreneurship through the creation of university spin-offs (USOs) as a transfer system has been enhanced during the last two decades. This commitment of universities and public policy makers has been based mainly on the use of investments of public funds in universities and the capacity for such investments to create employment and economic growth. In this sense, entrepreneurial skills are one of the strongest determinants of intention. For this reason, the present study proposes the use of the paradigm known as Big Five, which proposes as personality variables those recognized by the acronym OCEAN (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) to recognize if they are determinants of entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial intent, all through the application of Theory Planed Behavior (TPB). To study the influence of entrepreneurial skills, a self-administrated questionnaire was sent to more than 33,000 Spanish academics. The responses yielded a sample size of 799. The results show that entrepreneurial skills are the prime determinants of attitude and perceived control, and attitude is the decisive factor that determines the intention to go into business. Therefore, investment in training and the cultivation of skills and attitudes constitute the most relevant factors for achieving an increase in the creation of USOs.

Avances normativos en la creación de empresas spin off universitarias en México

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><strong>Objetivo </strong><span>̶ </span><span>analizar el contexto de la legislación que permite la creación de empresas </span><em>spin off </em><span>derivadas de los resultados de investigación de la academia en México, evaluando la normatividad y sus implicaciones.<br /> </span><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Método </strong><span>̶ </span><span>se realiza la revisión de literatura, las políticas públicas y la reglamentación emitida, así como algunas entrevistas con las áreas encargadas de su operación.</span></p><p><strong>Resultados</strong> ̶ se identifican consensos en la construcción del marco conceptual y los procedimientos; sin embargo, no son claras las políticas que dichas organizaciones han implementado para acompañar este tipo de empresas.</p><p><strong>Limitaciones </strong> ̶ se centran en la necesidad de continuar el análisis sistemático de cómo las universidades fomentan la creación de empresas <em>spin off</em>, se presenta una aproximación y se tendrá que evaluar la eficacia en la supervivencia de estas empresas.</p><p><strong>Principales hallazgos </strong><span>̶ </span><span>apuntan a la existencia de Oficinas de Transferencia de Conocimiento para coadyuvar en las capacidades básicas de creación de </span><em>spin off </em><span>universitarias, aunque algunas oficinas no han tenido el apoyo institucional para que se concrete la creación de empresas </span><em>spin off</em><span>. </span></p></div></div></div>

What matters: The Formation of University Spin-offs in Europe

Abstract Background: Transfer of knowledge from academia to business is one of the crucial issues for creating innovation. Creation of university spin-offs could significantly improve this transfer. Objectives: The main scientific aim is to examine the differences between universities in European countries and identify factors affecting the probability of creating the university spin-off. The paper is also focused on the differences in the specialization and financial sources of universities. Methods/Approach: We compare selected indicators for higher education institutions in European countries and examine potential determinants affecting the probability of academic spin-off formation. With respect to the main aim, the logit and probit regression analyses have been used. Results: Our results show that the creation of spin-offs is typical on the one hand for highly specialized universities or on the other hand for universities with a wide variety of study programs. They should also have an optimum number of doctoral students and have mostly less funding from tuition fees. Conclusions: Several indicators appear to play an important role in the formation of university spin-off. These indicators are the level of specialization, the share of tuition fees in the University budget, and the share of Ph.D. and foreign students.

University spin-offs creation in the Latin American region

PurposeThis paper aims to empirically explore the influence that different factors have on the creation of university spin-offs.Design/methodology/approachThis is an exploratory study that uses a multilevel design. The study follows a purposive sampling method where data are gathered from a variety of sources. The hypotheses are tested with a sample of 52 universities from the Latin American region using multiple hierarchical regression analysis.FindingsThe results indicate that entrepreneurial orientation, incubators or entrepreneurship support programs and goods market efficiency are the factors that positively influence the creation of university spin-offs.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study should be observed in light of some limitations. The sample size is an important factor, as a bigger sample could allow for examination of cross-institutional variation in the context of different countries. In addition, the lack of records or public databases makes it difficult to incorporate more information on spin-offs creation, including features or firm performance.Originality/valueThis study is the first to empirically explore the university spin-offs creation phenomenon in the Latin American region. Hence, it contributes to university entrepreneurship literature, specifically to better understand this phenomenon from a more holistic perspective across different levels of analysis at the same time that it incorporates previous proposals to explain entrepreneurial orientation at universities.

University Characteristics as Factor Affecting the Creation of University Spin-Offs

The university-spin off company is a specific but rather effective tool for the direct transfer of knowledge and new technology from academia into business. However, this seems to be still a not very common phenomenon in many European countries. The paper aims to compare the characteristics of universities in European countries based on empirical data for 2465 higher education institutions in Europe retrieved from European Tertiary Education Register database. We examined factors that could have a potential effect on the creation of university spin-off companies in Europe. In order to find these factors we applied logit and probit regression analysis. Our results strongly suggest that those universities which are neither strongly focused on a few fields of research, nor very broad in their focus are mostly less active in creating the university spin-off companies. The intensity of PhD study, the share of tuition fees as well as a number of foreign students seem to be factors affecting university spin-off activities.

How entrepreneurial are students who intend to become academics? – A study of career motives

The aim of this paper is to ascertain how students who intend to work as academics differ in their entrepreneurial attitudes and career motives from students who intend to become entrepreneurs. The study is based on quantitative data from two German universities. Our multinomial logistic regression analyses show that some career motives that can be associated with the intention of starting a business can also be associated with the intention of starting an academic career. However, students with academic career intentions are by and large not more likely to develop entrepreneurial intentions than students who intend to become employees outside the academic world. Particularly, compared to students with entrepreneurial career intentions, academic-bound students tend to lack entrepreneurial attitudes, and have a lower desire to achieve financial success and a stronger desire to receive recognition in their future career. These differences should be considered when designing policies that aim at fostering the creation of university spin-offs.

Revisiting University Spinoffs: Conceptual Advancements and Theoretical Underpinnings

University spinoffs (USOs) have remarkably strengthened the linkage between universities and the industry. Number of technology patents and spinoffs coming out of university research has a significant impact on regional economic and social development. To further highlight the importance of university spinoffs the aim of this paper is to review the scholarly literature on university spinoff and present a comprehensive overview of what is a university spinoff, why is it important, what makes it significant and how university spinoffs are created/can be created. Besides reviewing the existing models of university spinoff creation, authors have also attempted to develop a stage model of university spinoff creation.

University spin-off creation in Canada, Spain and Portugal: a comparative analysis from the perspective of the national systems of entrepreneurship

This paper analyses university-industry technology transfer (UITT) and academic spin-off creation in Canada, and Spain and Portugal. The national systems of entrepreneurship approach are adopted in this analysis. It is argued that the possibility of finding entrepreneurial capabilities amongst scientists contributes to successfully transferring technology from universities to industry. The process of UITT and spin-off creation is characterised by following a non-linear trajectory. This paper stresses the importance of a supportive incentives policy at universities to successfully advance the process of technology transfer. A system dynamics (SD) model of UITT and academic spin-off creation from the perspective of the systems of entrepreneurship are developed in this paper. The SD approach allows including in the same analysis feedback effects, time delays and other non-linear effects characterising the process of UITT and university spin-off creation.

University spin-off creation in Canada, Spain and Portugal: a comparative analysis from the perspective of the national systems of entrepreneurship

This paper analyses university-industry technology transfer (UITT) and academic spin-off creation in Canada, and Spain and Portugal. The national systems of entrepreneurship approach are adopted in this analysis. It is argued that the possibility of finding entrepreneurial capabilities amongst scientists contributes to successfully transferring technology from universities to industry. The process of UITT and spin-off creation is characterised by following a non-linear trajectory. This paper stresses the importance of a supportive incentives policy at universities to successfully advance the process of technology transfer. A system dynamics (SD) model of UITT and academic spin-off creation from the perspective of the systems of entrepreneurship are developed in this paper. The SD approach allows including in the same analysis feedback effects, time delays and other non-linear effects characterising the process of UITT and university spin-off creation.

The Regional Effect on the Innovative Performance of University Spin-Offs: a Multilevel Approach

Creation of university spin-offs has become one of the most supported ways for the university to accomplish the objective of knowledge transfer to the society. Since university spin-offs (USOs) are firms created to commercialize knowledge or technology developed by academic research, a key source of the potential contribution of USOs to knowledge economy lies in their innovation ability. External factors, like knowledge spillovers, might influence USOs’ innovation. This study tests the hypothesis that the regional context may partly determine the innovative performance of USOs. By applying an “interactionist approach,” we estimate a two-level logistic random intercept model for a sample of 167 USOs located in ten Spanish regions. Our results confirmed that firm-specific characteristics are important for explaining the innovative performance of USOs but show that regional context matters too.

Can a magic recipe foster university spin-off creation?

This study examines factors that explain the creation of university spin-offs. The study focuses on mechanisms that technology transfer offices (TTOs) and universities employ to foster spin-offs. These mechanisms include technology transfer activities that support spin-offs, normative frameworks, support infrastructures (i.e., business incubators and science parks), and TTO staff's specialist technical skills. The analysis also differentiates between public and private universities. Spin-offs belong to one or more of the following groups: spin-offs with support from the university's TTO, spin-offs operating under a license agreement, and spin-offs in which the TTO or university holds equity. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of 2011 data from 63 Spanish universities (46 public and 17 private) identifies recipes of antecedent conditions that effectively foster spin-offs. Results show that no unique combination of antecedent conditions yields more university spin-offs than any other does. This finding indicates that several strategies can successfully lead to academic entrepreneurship.

Transversing the “valley of death”

Purpose– The economic impact of scientific research is receiving widespread attention all over the world, with interest being paid to research results that could potentially contribute to economic growth. There have been various policy responses in many African countries to facilitate the nation’s transition from a production-based to an innovation-based economy, especially in the universities. The effort is, however taken for granted that scientists (researchers) are now having academic entrepreneurship mindset. The purpose of this paper is to attempt at developing a model that integrates individual, organisational and institutional determinants of academic entrepreneurship, which can facilitate the ability to cross the “valley of death”.Design/methodology/approach– The paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature to establish the factors that influence the capacity of academic researchers to discover and exploit opportunities for converting knowledge into commercialisable products.Findings– The findings indicate that exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities is driven by the extent of previous collaboration with industry, cognitive integration and prior entrepreneurial experience. Moreover, the university institutional environment must encourage and facilitate the creation of university spin-offs.Research limitations/implications– The paper and the proposed framework are based on theoretical suppositions related to the determinant factors underlying the formation of academic entrepreneurial intentions. Therefore, an empirical analysis is required to measure each factor proposed in this model.Practical implications– Considering the present weak national innovation system and university-industry linkages, universities in developing countries will require more than the production of potentially useful knowledge. There is need for conscious efforts by the university administration to put in place mechanisms that will facilitate the commercialisation of knowledge being produced in the university, encourage active participation in designing marketable products, as well as playing a leadership role in ensuring successful commercialisation.Social implications– The findings and framework developed in this paper can serve as an input to the design of policies that can stimulate the entrepreneurial activity of the academic researchers so that they can further contribute to technological development and economic growth in African countries.Originality/value– Majority of the empirical studies on entrepreneurship in developing countries have not attempted to understand the entrepreneurial intention of university academic (researchers). But the current efforts of integrating economic development as an additional function to research and teaching of the universities in developing countries requires that they should operate more entrepreneurially. Therefore, this paper is proposing a framework that might stimulate the creation and development of entrepreneurial university thereby making the university to effectively fulfil its teaching, research and entrepreneurial missions.

Roles of entrepreneurial orientation and guanxi network with parent university in start-ups’ performance: evidence from university spin-offs in China

The aim of this study is to examine the roles of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and the guanxi network with parent university (GNPU) in the creation of university spin-offs (USOs). The study replicates and extends previous research on academic entrepreneurship by providing an empirical analysis using data from 140 USOs in China. The empirical results indicate that three dimensions of EO (innovativeness: IN; proactiveness: PR; and risk-taking: RT) and GNPU have positive effects on the financial performance (FP); PR, RT, and GNPU have positive effects on non-financial performance (NFP) of USOs. In the context of moderating effects, this study finds that only GNPU positively moderates the relationships between IN and FP as well as between PR and NFP, failing to find others. Generally speaking, EO is an important strategic asset and GNPU is an important organisational resource that underpin the establishment of USOs. In addition, we also provide some important theoretical and practical implications for scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers.

University Spinoffs: What, Why, and How?

University spinoffs have remarkably strengthened the linkage between universities and industry. The number of technology patents and spinoffs coming out of university research has a significant impact on regional economic and social development. To further highlight the importance of university spinoffs, the aim of this article is to review available literature on university spinoffs and present a comprehensive overview of what university spinoffs are, why they are important, what makes them significant, and how they are or can be created. In addition to reviewing existing models of university spinoff creation, we also propose a new, multi-stage, holistic model. The medieval university looked backwards; it professed to be a storehouse of old knowledge. The modern university looks forward, and is a factory of new knowledge.