University Spin-offs Research Articles

The Contribution of University Spin-Offs to the Competitive Advantage of Regions

The regional knowledge creation is the dominant economic explanation of regional competitiveness. In view of this, the commercialization and diffusion of knowledge/technology, developed in academia, have increased the attention of policy makers as strategic and key element, supporting and fostering the regional socio-economic development and competitiveness. University spin-offs (USOs), companies created to exploit the knowledge and technology developed within a university, are a potential and active way to stimulate the knowledge growth of economies in different regional contexts. The paper tests the hypothesis that USOs may partly determine the competitive advantage of the regions. Based on a longitudinal sample of 952 USOs located in 20 Italian administrative regions and by applying 6 linear-mixed models, the results show that USOs effectively contribute in fostering regional competitiveness only in terms of number (count) of USOs from a given university, while the effect of their patent activity is weak. On the basis of the results, some remarkable theoretical, managerial, and policy implications are advanced.

The effects of public policies in fostering university spinoffs in Italy

ABSTRACTPerformance-based research funding systems in the European Union include a number of established spinoffs among the measures of universities’ third mission. Through a longitudinal study on the establishment of 1254 spinoffs during 1999–2015 from 85 Italian state universities, we find that the introduction of such a policy increased the number of academic spinoffs. However, the rate of creation of academic spinoffs increased in regions with higher skilled unemployment and in universities with fewer academic career opportunities, rather than in more research-oriented or more prestigious universities. These results cast doubt on the appropriateness of measures based on the sheer number of academic spinoffs in evaluating the third mission of universities.

A Competitive Analysis and Formulation of Strategy of University Spin Off Company

A company is required to develop core competencies through the understanding of its competitive advantage to survive in a business environment. Identifying opportunities for competitive advantage requires an understanding of industry competition. A company need to assess the level of competition and company’s position in the industry, and must react to changes in the external environment. Then, a company can arrange appropriate strategies to win the competition. This article obtains data from interviews, observation, books, scientific journals, and the internet. It uses Porter’s Five Forces Model, PEST analysis, and SWOT analysis to analyze the competitive advantages and formulating the strategy. Porter’s Five Forces Model is used to provide the level of competition and the company’s position in the industry, meanwhile PEST analysis is used to analyze the macro environment of an organization, and finally, SWOT analysis formulate a strategy based on Porter and PEST analysis that has been done before. Based on qualitative and quantitative data, it can be concluded that the company has competitive pressures on average high and it has some of opportunities in the industry of health supplements and cosmetics such as population and economic growth of Malaysian is high, and health awareness is also high, this will be followed by the increasing of purchasing healthcare products, technological advance such as online shopping. Strategy formulation of the company also can be defined by SWOT matrix, such as expanding marketing methods by selling a product in third party products online store in Malaysia.

Assessment of University Spin-Off Company Competitiveness Based on Products Performance and Expert Opinion: A Case Study on Bioproduct Based Spin-Off Company

A university spin-off (USO) company is a form of science and technology application in the field of economics and this company was built by a university with the aim of marketing the products of their research. But a spin-off company management usually consist of academic practitioner that lack of business experience so a company competitiveness assessment is needed to design a business strategies for better management and policy also for this company to survive in the market and reach it’s true potential. This paper aim is to assess a spin-off company competitiveness based on products performance using BCG matrix and expert opinion using a questionnaire based on porter’s five forces model and an expert opinion assessment questionnaire (delphi method) using a bio product based USO as case study. The study shows that only 3 products are classified as star category in BCG matrix, threat of substitute product is the biggest threat for the company based on porter’s model, and also marketing is the most important factor for company development based on delphi method. Those findings can help the company to understand better their business and develop further their internal policy.

Time to Market: Analysis of Context Elements Determining First Sales for University Spin-offs

Achieving first sales constitutes a major milestone in new venture development, especially university spin-offs that may face lengthy product development times. Using a resource dependence lens, we examine four different contexts (university, firm resources, technology and industry) to understand the time to first sales among a population of university spin-offs in Norway from 1999 to 2012. We find that the type of owner, the background of the university, the resources dedicated towards labor, and possessing patents helps speed the time to market. Our results help shed new light on inconsistent performance patterns of spin-offs, address how technology based firms can speed their time to market, and how varying contexts affect spin-off development. Implications for future research are discussed.

The Role of Initial Board Capital in University Spin-Off Companies

University spin-off companies have verified their potential as a wealth creating strategy in commercializing intellectual property from universities. However, they are complex entities, suffering u...

A Study on the University Spin-offs in Japan : Focused on Listed Companies

A Study on the University Spin-offs in Japan : Focused on Listed Companies

The effectiveness of entrepreneurial universities at creating surviving firms

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the survival of university spin-offs (USOs) in Spain. First, the survival rates of USOs are compared with those of a group of similar firms. Second, the firm-specific characteristics of surviving USOs are compared with those of failed USOs.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on two subsamples consisting of 469 USOs and 469 non-USOs. A matching procedure is used for identifying a valid control group that allows for an outcome comparison between USOs and non-USOs. A longitudinal data set (2000-2010) is constructed, combining data regarding firm-specific characteristics and patent activity. The survival rates of both USOs and non-USOs are described first, and then, the firm-specific characteristics of the surviving USOs are discussed and compared with those of the failed USOs.FindingsThe authors find that the survival rates of the USOs are slightly lower than those of the non-USOs. In addition, the failed USOs have a longer average life span than the failed non-USOs. Finally, the data show that the surviving USOs are more likely to have venture capital investors, exports and patents than the failed USOs.Research limitations/implicationsThis study carries out an explanatory analysis of the survival of Spanish USOs. As the results showed no significant differences between the characteristics of the surviving USOs and those that failed, except for subtle differences in the profiles of the two groups, it is necessary to analyse the underlying causes of this situation.Practical/implicationsIn many countries, large amounts of public funds have been invested in the creation of USOs. This policy only makes sense if these firms increase the business value and create jobs. The support of USOs with a low expectation of survival or economic viability opens a debate on the amount of public funds invested in these firms. In the current context, funding obtained by these companies could be considered to drain resources from those projects that really deserve to be targeted.Originality/valueThe creation of USOs has become a mainstay of universities’ entrepreneurship strategies. Analysing USOs’ survival is therefore crucial for understanding the contribution of entrepreneurial universities to society. Survival is not another measure of this performance, but it is a pre-condition for university-based entrepreneurship to have an effect on society.

D-2 大学発ベンチャーと製造業とのかかわりにおけるP2Mコミュニケーションマネジメント(P2M事例研究他トラック)

D-2 大学発ベンチャーと製造業とのかかわりにおけるP2Mコミュニケーションマネジメント(P2M事例研究他トラック)

Spreading academic entrepreneurship: Made in Mexico

This work presents REPITA (Research-Ecosystem-People-Intellectual Property-Transfer-Alignment), a prescriptive and repeatable model for successful technology-based academic entrepreneurship, synthesized from research of academic entrepreneurship in developing economy conditions. In this work, we identify three deficiencies in Mexico’s entrepreneurship ecosystem: research skills, high technology, and technology transfer. We then present a solution that has been recognized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for fueling high-tech university spin-offs with science and technology doctoral research. Lessons from 48 spin-off projects are synthesized in the newly proposed REPITA model, which prescribes connecting a basic research platform to applications, catalyzing the entrepreneurship ecosystem with resources and incentives, combining highly specialized people in entrepreneurial teams, setting generous and flexible intellectual property policies for the knowledge economy, transferring technology per entry and exit strategies, and aligning technology and business incubation. Finally, we propose a tool that presents academic entrepreneurship theories in an actionable format for university administrators and entrepreneurs. These results are not a theoretical framework on their own, but rather a real-world organizational model based on theory for impelling technology-based, academic spin-offs with economic impact. Taken together, this contribution may be useful to practitioners and provocative for researchers.

University spin-off's performance: Capabilities and networks of founding teams at creation phase

The extant literature highlights that environmental conditions, during the creation phase, imprint on a start-up's survival and growth. However, there are few studies that explore the composite nature of a founding team's capabilities and networks, developed within this phase, and the contribution made to future performance. This paper uses the distinctive context of university spin-offs, where early stage ventures are fostered by institutional interventions, to analyse the influence that the capabilities and networks of a founding team, at incorporation, have upon the future performance of the spin-off. Based on data from 181 university spin-offs, this paper empirically demonstrates that the entrepreneurial capabilities of a founding team, augmented during the ‘creation’ phase, have a positive influence on the performance of a spin-off during the ‘growth’ phase, and that the networks of a founding team indirectly affect a spin-off's performance through the enhancement of a team's entrepreneurial capabilities.

University spin-offs

University spin-offs

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.

Regional Innovation Competition Index Relating to University Spin-Off Companies: The Case of Turkish Nuts 1 Regions

Inovasyon, koklu de g i s imlerin ya s andi g i dunya ekonomisinde hem ulusal hem de bolgesel buyume ve rekabet ortaminin yeni belirleyicileri arasinda yer almaktadir. Bu noktada, bolgesel rekabet gucunun belirleyicilerinin ortaya konulmasi onem arz etmektedir. Bu calismanin temel amaci, akademik filiz isletmelere iliskin bolgesel inovasyon rekabet gucunun belirleyicilerini tespit etmektir. Bu amac dogrultusunda Avrupa Birligi Bolgesel Inovasyon Rekabet Endeksi temel gostergeleri baz alinarak, Istatistiki Bolge Birimleri Siniflandirilmasina gore Duzey 1’e dahil olan Turkiye bolgelerinin bolgesel inovasyon rekabet endeksi olusturulmustur. Teknoloji Gelistirme Bolgeleri inovasyon ve yeni teknolojiler olusturmak icin potansiyel bir guce sahip oldugu icin, calismada Teknoloji Gelistirme Bolgeleri’nde faaliyet gosteren akademik filiz isletmeler orneklem olarak secilmistir. 200 sirkete iliskin veri toplama asamasinda anket yonteminden faydalanilmis ve bolgesel inovasyon rekabet endeksi olusturulurken temel bilesenler analizi kullanilmistir.

Univerzitné spin-off spoločnosti v Európe: faktory a politiky ovplyvňujúce ich vznik

The formation of university-spin off is seen as a potential tool for the transfer of knowledge and technology. University spin-off firms are able to transform the knowledge accumulated in research into its practical application and commercialization. Despite this fact, the formation of university spin-off is still rather rare phenomenon in many European countries. In our paper, we provide several examples of good practice in central European countries. Moreover, the paper aims to examine factors that could potentially affect the formation of university spin-offs in European countries. We applied logit and probit regression analysis based on empirical data for 2465 universities in Europe retrieved from European Tertiary Education Register database. Our results suggest that those universities, which are neither focused on many different fields of study, nor highly specialized are less often involved in creating the university spin-off. Furthermore, intensity of PhD study, the share of tuition fees as well as a number of foreign students appears to be other factors affecting the probability of forming a university spin-off. Our results also bring several policy implications for tertiary education policy, which are summarized in the conclusion.

Determinant factors of university spin-off: the case of Korea

Increasingly more research has examined the creation of university spin-off firms as are seen as an important source of regional and national economic growth. However little is known about the factors influencing the formation of university spin-off in Asian countries, especially in Korea. This paper contributes to the literature on academic entrepreneurship by deepening our understanding on determinant factors of university spin-off in the case of Korea. We investigate organizational and institutional factors highlighted in the literature as influencing the creation of university spin-off companies. The Korean government has implemented the INNOPOLIS Research Institute Spin-off (IRIS) program to enable universities to create new firms within special research and development (RD consequently, this study utilized 122 universities from 2013 to 2015 to analyze determinant factors that affect university spin-offs. Panel logit and negative binomial analysis results indicate that university location has the highest positive influence on IRIS. Government-sponsored funding has a negative impact; however, the likelihood that universities create spin-offs and the number of IRIS firms are positively and significantly affected by publications, patents, research funding, and number of university spin-offs.

The effect of parent university on firm growth: an analysis of the Spanish and Italian USOs

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the hypothesis that the university context may partially determine the growth of university spin-offs (USOs), with a cross-national analysis and using an “interactionist” approach.Design/methodology/approachTwo samples of USOs, from Spain and Italy (531 and 952 firms, respectively), were examined over the 2005-2013 period. Multilevel modelling was applied to empirically test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results confirmed that the university context is a critical and effective element for explaining USOs’ growth. The university context affected USOs’ growth only for the Spanish firms, while for the Italian spin-offs the evidence does not report a significant determining influence of the university context. This finding may be interpreted as the localization externalities, determined by the Spanish universities, have a more effective impact at firm level compared with those generated by the Italian universities.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper provides evidence that the university context has a significant role in supporting USOs’ growth in Spain, but not in Italy. This finding, together with the fact that the Italian USOs showed lower growth rates over the period of analysis, may suggest that greater involvement by the Italian parent universities is needed to foster USOs’ growth. The main point to be underlined to decision makers is that policies aimed at fostering USOs need the active involvement of the parent university in the whole growth process of the nascent firm, rather than just in the USO creation process.Originality/valueA multilevel approach provides both methodological and theoretical contributions to the study of USOs’ growth, which was adopted as an “interactionist” approach is recommended by literature. In addition, a cross-national approach allows for exploration of the actual effect of the university on the growth of USOs, taking into account international differences.

The growth of university spin-offs: a dynamic panel data approach

ABSTRACTEvidence suggests that a significant percentage of the university spin-offs (USOs) have a low growth capacity, putting in question the use of public funds to promote this kind of entrepreneurship. In addition, previous studies of the USOs’ growth have not dealt with the dynamic nature of firm growth, which might have led to questionable results. This paper analyses whether the university origin of a firm conditions its growth by applying a methodology which captures this dynamic nature of growth. Using a sample of 469 Spanish USOs and an equivalently matched group of 469 Spanish non-USOs over the period 2001–2010, we find that USOs have more growth than non-USOs, both in terms of sales and employment. In addition, the USOs’ growth is influenced by a set of determinants that differ from those of non-USOs. On the basis of the results, we propose some policies to foster the USOs.

Internal funding, debt and external equity: which of these effectively improve the growth of University Spin-Offs?

The paper aims to explore the impact of different financing sources on the growth of university spin-offs (USOs). It hypothesises that both internal finance and debt finance have little to no positive effect on the growth of USOs. Whereas, equity finance is expected to have a stronger positive impact, especially in the form of private equity/venture capital. A panel sample of 621 Italian USOs was investigated over the 2004-2013 period. The results show a small positive impact from internal funding on USOs growth. Debt funding seems to have no impact, while external equity finance has a weak role, even when obtained from venture capital/private equity. The findings provide evidence that the USOs have financial constraints limiting their growth.

Public Funding and Corporate Innovation

We review and condense the body of literature on the economic returns of public RD (ii) private RD (iii) RD (v) the mobility of RD (vi) there are many university spin-offs but these are no more successful than non-university spin-offs; (vii) universities constitute important collaboration partners and (viii) clusters enhance collaboration, patents and productivity. Key problems for economic policy advice are that the identification of causal effects is problematic in most studies and that little is known about the optimal design of policy measures.