Who is the academic entrepreneur? The role of graduate students in the development of university spinoffs

Academic entrepreneurship, the establishment of new companies based on technologies derived from university research, is a well-recognized driver of regional and national economic development. For more than a decade, scholars have conceptualized individual university faculty as the primary agents of academic entrepreneurship. Recent research suggests that graduate students also play a critical role in the establishment and early development of university spinoff companies, but the nature of their involvement through the entrepreneurial process is not yet fully understood. Employing a case study approach, this paper investigates the role of graduate students in early-stage university spinoff companies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We find that graduate students play role similar to that of individual faculty entrepreneurs in university spinoffs, both in terms of making the initial establishment decision and in reconfiguring the organization for marketable technology development. We also find that student entrepreneurs face unique challenges involving conflicts with faculty advisors and other students.     

What drives patenting and commerzialisation activity at East German universities? The role of new public policy, institutional environment and individual prior knowledge

New public policy enacted in Germany in 2002, intends to increase the number of patent registrations of academic entrepreneurs, and facilitate the commercialization and spillover of innovation generated at public universities. Results from a survey amongst university patentees in two new German Laender, Thuringia and Saxony, accomplished in 2009, are reported focusing on government policy, university support, and the role of technology transfer in an organizational and cultural context. Using a two-step cluster analysis, the survey data are used to profile the patentees and to investigate whether personal attributes and institutional environment contribute to academic entrepreneurship. Empirical findings show that advanced age and non-university working experience contribute significantly to entrepreneurial behavior. New public policy contributes to facilitate patent registrations, but professional expertise for the commercialization of knowledge as well as financial and organizational support schemes needs further improvement. This explains why patent registrations have slightly increased but also why universities report very low levels of commercialization through entrepreneurship. We offer policy recommendations to overcome the existent barriers, among them, the professionalization of technology transfer or targeted marketing for registered patents.     

In search of the profit-maximizing actor: motivations and definitions of success from nascent academic entrepreneurs

Scholars have traditionally assumed the establishment and management of university spinoffs are guided by growth and the pursuit of profit. However, few studies have examined the motivations and post-establishment success definitions of entrepreneurs themselves. This paper seeks to contribute to our understanding of the mediating factors of academic entrepreneurship through an in-depth interview-based study of 74 nascent academic entrepreneurs. The results show that academic entrepreneurs define success in a number of complex, interrelated ways including technology diffusion, technology development, financial gain, public service and peer motivations, among others. Furthermore, a large percentage of the respondents have little immediate interest in growth and have instead established their firms to pursue other sources of development funding.     

Student and graduate entrepreneurship: ambidextrous universities create more nascent entrepreneurs

Despite its importance, student and graduate entrepreneurship at universities has received limited scholarly attention. The literature on university entrepreneurship has mainly focused on university scientists who have founded their own firms or spin-offs that were created based on intellectual property that is owned by universities. This paper focuses on technology new ventures that are created by university students and new graduates and aims to investigate the linkages among university-level organizational competencies, the entrepreneurial competencies of nascent entrepreneurs and the number of start-ups that have been created by students and new graduates. Our argument is that universities are heterogeneous in their resources and competencies, and these organizational competencies are influential on students in the development of entrepreneurial competencies and hence in the creation of start-ups. Differences among universities have led to information asymmetries and variances in entrepreneurial competencies among students and graduates. This study uses two data sources at the university level from Turkey. The first is the Technoenterprise Funding Support Program, and the second is the Entrepreneurial and Innovative University Index. Our research covers 40 universities over 3 years from 2012 to 2014, and we apply a panel data methodology. Our research suggests that (1) ambidextrous universities that provide a good context for the exploration and exploitation of new knowledge support their students in the development of entrepreneurial competencies and in starting their own technology new ventures, (2) the traditional role of universities (research and teaching) is important for the creation of entrepreneurial universities and finally, (3) university entrepreneurship is path-dependent.     

Academic and Surrogate Entrepreneurs in University Spin-out Companies

Universities have two options when they formulate policies to develop new technology-based start-ups. One approach is to encourage faculty members to engage in this activity. Another avenue is to encourage surrogate (external) entrepreneurs to assume a leadership role. Based on a survey of technology transfer/business development officers at 57 U.K. universities, we examine perceptions regarding the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. We also analyze whether there are significant differences in these attitudes between universities that have launched many start-ups and those that have been less active in this arena. Our results imply that the most significant barriers to the adoption of entrepreneurial-friendly policies are cultural and informational. We also find that universities that generate the most start-ups have more favorable attitudes towards surrogate entrepreneurs. It appears that a combination of academic and surrogate entrepreneurship might be the best approach for universities that wish to develop successful technology-transfer based start-up companies.     

Public policy for academic entrepreneurship initiatives: a review and critical discussion

This article provides a critical review and discussion of current literature on technology transfer, incubators, and academic entrepreneurship. Drawing upon the notion of robustness in social systems and public choice theory, we review, code, and taxonomize 166 studies to assess the likelihood that these initiatives will generate innovation and economic growth. We find that academic entrepreneurship initiatives are characterized by conflicting goals, weak incentive structures for universities and academics, and are contextually dependent upon factors such as university strength. Our results suggest that there are critical boundary conditions that are unlikely to be fulfilled when universities and policymakers enact policies to support academic entrepreneurship initiatives. Policymakers therefore need to be cautious in the potential design of such initiatives. We discuss how technology transfer from universities might be better achieved through alternative mechanisms such as contract research, licensing, consulting and increased labor mobility among researchers.     

高等师范教育发展中的学科教学论

高等师范教育在师范教育重组重构,综合大学试办教育学院的新形势下,遇到了严峻的困境和发展机遇,它必须寻求新的生长点。如何能把握自身优势积极发展教育硕士专业学位教育,如何能理智地明确学科归属,实现资源共享,提升学科实力,如何能重视建构学科体系,锻造学术队伍,开辟实践基地,学科教学论必将获得自身的突破性发展,并对高师教育发展做出重大贡献。     

Academic Capitalism and University Incentives for Faculty Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurial behavior by professors—including decisions about collaboration with industry, patenting and spinning off companies—can affect the productivity of top universities’ technology transfer efforts. Interviews with 98 professors at 12 southeastern universities showed that the most significant influence on these aspects of entrepreneurial behavior is the beliefs of professors about the proper role of universities in the dissemination of knowledge. Some institutional policies, notably revenue splits with inventors, can affect aspects of this behavior. These findings suggest that both university incentive policies and ethical concerns about academic capitalism, by limiting the productivity of technology transfer efforts, have an effect on regional economic development.     

Entrepreneurship and University Technology Transfer

This paper argues that it is important to devote greater attention to the study of entrepreneurship in technology transfer in the light of greater government attention, the growth in the phenomenon, the need to identify how wealth can be created from spin-outs, changes in the cultures of universities and differences with technological entrepreneurship in general. The paper summarizes the contributions made by the papers presented in the special issue in terms of their levels of analysis. At the spin-out level, issues are raised concerning identification of typologies of spin-out firms, the evolution of spin-outs and external resources. At the university level, issues concerning policies, internal resources and processes are discussed. An agenda for further research is elaborated which relates to the need to examine further levels of analysis: the academic entrepreneurs themselves and how they recognize opportunities and shape their ideas to meet the market; the nature of internal university environments, processes and resources; and the nature of the scientific discipline which may have implications for the process of creation and development of spin-out ventures.     

Beyond town and gown: university economic engagement and the legacy of the urban crisis

University-driven land development and research into the amelioration of social problems are examples of the wider dimensions of economic engagement by large American research universities in metropolitan settings since 1949, and both dimensions are strongly conditioned by the experiences of universities and surrounding neighborhoods during the “urban crisis” of the 1960s. The rise of the modern American research university between 1950 and 1980 coincided with the economic decline of large American cities and the slide of their poorest neighborhoods into severe socioeconomic distress. The elite identification of the university as a force for economic and social change was a direct response to these urban upheavals, and the dynamics of its new role were fueled by the presumptions of postwar consensus liberalism. The urban crisis had an effect on town-gown relations that endured into the early twenty-first century, not least because it made local governments and universities allies rather than adversaries. Countering definitions of the role the university should take in economic development have arisen from a “town” comprised not of elected officials, but of community members from both within and outside of the university. The long shadow of urban crisis attests to the historical contingency of town-gown interactions and the usefulness of historical, case-based approaches to understanding the role of universities in urban and metropolitan economies.     

What drives the university use of technology transfer offices? Evidence from Italy

Over the last 20 years, universities have made steady progress in their efforts to foster the process of technology transfer through collaboration with industry. The establishment of technology transfer offices (TTO) has become routine for supporting the commercialization of academic research. However, the literature shows that there are many factors that affect the efficiency and effectiveness of these offices. Based on original data from interviews with 197 university departments in Italy, this paper investigates the determinants of universities university use of TTOs. We take account of the effects of universities’ and TTOs characteristics, of research and geographic indicators.     

Parting the ivory curtain: understanding how universities support a diverse set of startups

Universities are widely recognized as a critical source of technological innovation and are heralded for the entrepreneurial ventures cultivated within their walls. To date, most research has focused on academic entrepreneurship—new ventures that spin out of academic laboratories. However, universities also give rise to startups that do not directly exploit knowledge generated within academic laboratories. Such firms—and the societal and economic benefits they create—are an important contribution of modern universities. We propose a framework for understanding the full scope of university entrepreneurship and its driving factors, with the goal of providing scholars, university administrators, and policymakers with insights regarding the resources required to foster entrepreneurship from within the ivory tower.     

Academic entrepreneurship and business schools

In this paper, we employ resource-based and institutional theories to examine the current role of business schools in academic entrepreneurship. In particular, we seek to identify and understand the challenges to business schools contributing to the transfer of knowledge to enable academic entrepreneurship. Employing a case-based method, we present evidence from 42 interviews with technology transfer officers (TTOs), business school deans, business school entrepreneurship faculty and scientists in eight UK universities. Our empirical analysis is focused on analyzing the challenges arising from the links between business schools and three other principal stakeholders of academic entrepreneurship (i.e., the university management, TTOs and academics in science departments). The findings suggest that in addition to concerns about the nature of their human capital, the ability of business schools to fill knowledge gaps in the development of academic entrepreneurship is constrained by the institutional structures of universities which influence: the strategies of the university and the business school; links between business schools, TTOs and scientists; and process issues relating to differences in language and codes, goal differences, incentives and rewards, expertise differences and the content of interactions. We conclude that if business schools are to play a more prominent role in academic entrepreneurship there is a need to develop internal university processes and policies that promote rather than hinder internal knowledge flows between business schools, TTOs and science departments.     

The contribution of university research to the growth of academic start-ups: an empirical analysis

The aim of this paper is to analyze empirically under which circumstances the universities located in a geographical area contribute to the growth of a special category of local new technology-based firms (NTBFs), those established by academic personnel (academic start-ups, ASUs). We examine the effects of a series of characteristics of local universities on the growth rates of ASUs and we compare them with the effects of the same university characteristics on the growth of other (i.e., non-academic) NTBFs. In the empirical part of the paper, we estimate an augmented Gibrat law panel data model using a longitudinal dataset composed of 487 Italian NTBFs observed from 1994 to 2003. Out of these NTBFs 48 are ASUs. The results of the econometric estimates suggest that universities do influence the growth rates of local ASUs, while the effects on the growth rates of other NTBFs are negligible. In particular, the scientific quality of the research performed by universities has a positive effect on the growth rates of ASUs; conversely the commercial orientation of research has a negative effect. These results indicate that universities producing high-quality scientific research have a beneficial impact on the growth of local high-tech start-ups, but only if these firms are able to detect, absorb, and use this knowledge. In this perspective, a greater commercial orientation of university research leading to a reduction of the knowledge available for absorption by these companies, can be detrimental.     

Technology transfer from university research in regional development strategies

The involvement of universities in state and local technology-based economic development initiatives is discussed, emphasizing programs designed to exploit technology transfer from university research. The university role is examined in relation to the reality of the difficulties technologically less-developed regions face in creating the technological infrastructure required for the success of such efforts. Generic and specific examples of university programs are described and some appropriate recommendations are made for federal policies to support and encourage these programs.     

Research universities as actors in the governance of local and regional development

In the increasingly competitive, knowledge-based economy, universities have a variety of potential roles for stimulating economic development beyond teaching, research and technology development. In this article we focus on universities’ role as actors in the governance of local and regional development. Using recently developed theories about the emergence of heterarchical governance, we discuss the motivations, interests, structural arrangements, and contingent conditions for universities becoming actors and partners in steering regional economic development policy and contributing to regional problem-solving, and explore the how university involvement may increase the effectiveness of governance processes. We test several hypotheses and draw lessons for the design and participation of governance arrangements. Our results suggest that individual leadership initiatives and the quality or interpersonal working relationships among leaders may be more important than the particular structural arrangements for producing effective governance outcomes.     

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 (R&D) zones to commercialize public R&D output. The capability of universities to establish new firms through the program varies; 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 ivory tower approach to entrepreneurial linkage: productivity changes in university technology transfer

Academic entrepreneurship has been intensively applied to the area of technology innovation and diffusion in the US. Along with the promotion of innovative approaches, universities take advantage of knowledge spillovers from their laboratories to the market for both economic development and financial gains. This study assessed individual university productivity in technology transfer using feasible measures of multiple input–output combinations and data envelopment analysis to examine panel data gathered over the period 1999–2007. A major finding is that there was substantial growth in the average productivity of university technology transfer during this period. The average annual productivity gain in the 90 universities was over 30%, indicating that universities’ technology transfer activities were relatively efficient in terms of their input to output ratio. The positive shifts in average productivity changes were primarily due to the increasing frequencies of commercial outputs. This finding suggests that universities and public policy should pay attention to stimulate commercial activities rather than to increase investments for upgrading a next level of realistic, long-term strategies.     

Determinants and consequences of university spinoff activity: a conceptual framework

The characteristics and behavior of university spinoff activity is an important subject in economic and management studies literature. Such studies merit research because it is suggested that university innovations stimulate economies by spurring product development, by creating new industries, and by contributing to employment and wealth creation. For this reason, universities have come to be highly valued in terms of the economic potential of their research efforts. The aim of this paper is to offer a framework for the study of academic entrepreneurship that explains different aspects of university spinoff behavior in a coherent way. We suggest that the existing literature on this topic can be categorized into six separate streams and synthesized in a framework that captures the determinants and consequences of spinoff activity.      

The university technology transfer revolution in Saudi Arabia

This paper explains why and how a technology transfer revolution is taking place in Saudi Arabia to meet the mandate that Saudi Arabia become globally competitive as a knowledge-based innovative economy. The paper explains and identifies the new policies and institutions that have been introduced and developed to facilitate technology transfer and knowledge spillovers from the universities for commercialization and ultimately innovative activity and economic growth. The paper finds that a technology transfer revolution in Saudi Arabia is taking place, with the goal of leapfrogging from the factor-based stage of economic development to the innovation-based stage of economic development, while bypassing the intermediary efficiency-based stage of economic development.