The growth of academic spin-offs : the management team’s absorptive capacity and facilitator support

The Growth of Academic Spin-offs

The Management Team’s Absorptive Capacity and Facilitator Support

Academic spin-offs are defined as new start-up firms that commercially exploit research developed within an academic environment to the benefit of economic, social, and regional development. These start-ups can be initiated by university employees, students or graduates, but also by external individuals grasping the opportunity to bring new knowledge to the market.

Academic spin-offs often face difficulties in translating their initial idea to a business opportunity. In this thesis it is proposed that academic spin-offs can overcome these challenges by enhancing their absorptive capacity and by taking advantage of the guidance and resources provided by supporting organizations. Our findings can assist Academic spin-offs founders to develop their management team capabilities. They can also help university facilitators to optimize their support activities and policy makers to optimize the regional innovation ecosystem.