Innovation by design: SPARK and the Overcoming of Stanford University's Translational “Valley of Death” in Bio-Medicine

Stanford University's world leadership as an entrepreneurial university induced a “paradox of success,” inhibiting further development of its organizational infrastructure for entrepreneurship support. Nevertheless, some prospective academic entrepreneurs realized that there were invisible persisting gaps in the university's innovation system. We discuss the role of the entrepreneurial university and provide a case study of SPARK, an organizational innovation, created to address Stanford's translational research gap, that was then spread to other universities. The creation of a support structure to encourage students and faculty to define entrepreneurial projects as part of their education and research revealed a novel organizational change dynamic.     

Regional knowledge production as determinant of high-technology entrepreneurship: empirical evidence for Germany

Similar to the creation and distribution of new knowledge through industrial R&D and university research, entrepreneurial activity tends to vary across regions. Therefore the regionalized production of new knowledge is a prerequisite of entrepreneurial innovation. Based on endogenous growth theory, in particular the so-called Griliches-Jaffe-Model of regional knowledge production, we investigate industrial and university characteristics as determinants of technologically oriented entrepreneurship. Using hand-collected data from multiple sources, our results clearly show that high-technology entrepreneurship is highly dependent on regional knowledge production by industry and university, while technology entrepreneurship does largely not dependent on these factors.     

Categories of university-level entrepreneurship: a literature survey

Research into the nature, antecedents and effects of university-level entrepreneurship has grown due to the emergence of the university technology transfer phenomenon and the evolution of university's role in national innovation systems and economic development. From the literature survey, three research categories for university-level entrepreneurship are identified and examined namely entrepreneurial university, academic entrepreneurship and university technology transfer. Then, a framework depicting the relationship of the three research categories is developed and discussed. Lastly, recommendations are made for future research and analysis.     

莆田市创业生态系统的构建路径研究

创业生态系统是一个地区创业发展的高级形态。依据创业生态系统模型,莆田市可以从创业政策、创业金融、创业文化、创业支持、创业人才、创业市场这六大方面加强建设,构建城市创业生态系统。     

Innovation performance and the role of clustering at the local enterprise level: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach

ABSTRACT

This study, utilizes an innovative methodological approach, fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), investigating the drivers of heterogeneous geographies characterizing English Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs). The fsQCA technique offers a novel configurational alternative to regression-based approaches investigating the effects of clustering in conjunction with firm-level innovation, university third-sector activity (TSA) and entrepreneurship, on LEPs innovation performance. The findings, offer contributions to the theories of industrial clusters and innovation, regional innovation systems, knowledge spillovers and entrepreneurial university innovation within LEPs. First, supporting fsQCAs, no individual variable generates either a positive/negative innovation outcome. Second, while all positive innovation recipes include presence of the cluster variable, for negative innovation recipes, only one does not identify absence of clustering as relevant. Given that the cluster variable does not appear in any recipes without at least one of the other variables suggests activity concentration does not exist in isolation to generate innovation outcomes without other localized conditions existing, e.g. firm-level innovation. Third, there is evidence for the non-cluster-based aspects of knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship with respect to university activity and the entrepreneurial university concept. Instead, roles of entrepreneurship and university TSA, while important, appear to be more peripheral and geographically context specific.     

Rowing against the wind: how do times of austerity shape academic entrepreneurship in unfriendly environments?

Academic spin-offs (ASOs) help universities transfer knowledge or technology through business projects developed by academic staff. This investigation aims at analyzing the critical factors for spin-off creation at universities operating in crisis-raven, entrepreneurship-unfriendly environments. Such factors revolve around four types of resources: environmental, institutional, organizational, and personal. Focusing on a Southern European context, as an example of an unfriendly environment affected by economic crisis, an entrepreneurial university (the Technical University of Valencia in Spain, UPV) is our research setting. Through a case study approach, we examine the potential of UPV as a springboard for ASOs. Our results show an adverse local environment, a rather favorable influence of institutional and organizational drivers, and a mixed role of personal factors. Our findings illustrate that UPV consistently supports spin-off creation due to a greater (rather positive) reflexivity from its institutional, organizational and personal resources than the (negative) imprinting of the unfriendly environment. This helps counter-balance the structural unfriendliness for academic entrepreneurship, and trigger a crisis-led risk-taking attitude by academic staff. Hence, UPV should continue with its current strategy of supporting academic entrepreneurship, and might transfer best practices to other universities also affected by unfavorable environmental conditions. Generally speaking, we would advise universities facing adverse circumstances to develop rules and mechanisms for academic entrepreneurship, carefully revise and improve malfunctions, and become involved throughout the whole process of spin-off development. All in all, our study advances understanding of how the different drivers for ASO creation can be revamped by universities located in unfriendly environments, having in mind the key role that universities play in fostering social and economic development through academic entrepreneurship in such environments.     

Technology transfer executives' backwards integration: An examination of interactions between university technology transfer executives and principal investigators

This paper examines interactions between technology transfer office (TTO) executives and publicly funded principal investigators (PIs) within the university. Although both actors make important contributions to value creation at the base of the triple helix, their identities remain under development and their interactions have been the subject of little if any empirical inquiry. Drawing on identity transitions and role boundaries, we suggest that PIs’ forward integration in the innovation process and the persistence of strong role boundaries with TTO executives hinders the value-creating potential of their interactions. To examine this issue we study how TTO executives surmount role boundaries to secure effective engagement with PIs. Based on 42 interviews with (15) TTO executives and (27) PIs in New Zealand our results make a number of contributions. For literature we find that TTO executives are leveraging shared ties with funding agencies to offer assistance in the preparation of PIs’ grant applications. Specifically, our findings indicate that TTO executives are probing deeper within the university and becoming more valued at the input side of the value chain as a key intermediary between university and funding bodies than between university and industry. Notably, we find this backward integration by TTOs is timely given PIs’ perceptions that TTO executives have difficulties mastering capabilities related to their more recognized expertise in market validation, business development and industry connectivity. We discuss the implications of these findings for practice, none more so than the challenges they present for the identity work of TTO executives at the micro-foundations of the triple helix.     

Who am I? The influence of social identification on academic entrepreneurs’ role conflict

Academic entrepreneurs are the key actors in academic entrepreneurship. However, the individual level of research on academic entrepreneurship remains undeveloped. To better understand the micro foundation of academic entrepreneurship, we investigate the influence of social identification on academic entrepreneurs’ role conflict. Using data from 246 academic entrepreneurs, we explore the effects of scholarly identification, entrepreneurial identification, and social identity continuity on academic entrepreneurs’ role conflict. The results suggest that, entrepreneurial identification and social identify continuity are both negative related to identify conflict, while a scholarly identification is positively related to role conflict. In addition, the interaction of scholarly identification and entrepreneurial identification is negatively associated with role conflict. We also investigate the performance implications of such a role conflict and show that it is negatively related to academic entrepreneurship performance. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

     

Entrepreneurship policy and targets: the case of a low absorptive capacity region

Despite the existence of a positive relationship between new firm creation and economic growth, a certain controversy still exists regarding the need for the public promotion of entrepreneurship. The recent surge of entrepreneurship policies encompasses a wide variety of instruments and goals that are mainly designed and implemented at a regional or local level, which allows for a more efficient use of public resources. Case studies are therefore a useful approach to assessing “good practices” in entrepreneurship policies. We adopt this approach to empirically analyse whether policies are targeting specific entrepreneurial projects or not in the region of Valencia. We identify the features (in relation to the entrepreneur, the sector and the characteristics of the project itself) that may influence greater access to public funding and are principally related to standard requirements for this means of financing. These variables do not address specific entrepreneurial profiles, sectors or applicant projects, thereby revealing a substantial degree of horizontal policy design. Other features, such as almost all entrepreneurial characteristics (previous experience, age, etc.), do not seem relevant in terms of receiving public funds.     

Feeling the risks: effects of the development of emotional competences with outdoor training on the entrepreneurial intent of university students

Nowadays, one of the roles of universities is the promotion of entrepreneurship, particularly, among students. Research on entrepreneurship at an individual level of analysis focuses on the personal characteristics and the entrepreneurial attitude that stimulate its development, studying the factors affecting that some individuals discover and exploit opportunities by creating a company, while others do not. Yet, it has been proved that psychological characteristics of individuals affect their entrepreneurial intention. Additionally, experiential learning techniques, such as outdoor training have been showed as useful to change emotional competences. However, there is not any research on how changes in emotional competencies influence individual entrepreneurial intent in university students, particularly after participating in an outdoor training experience. This paper analyses quantitative and qualitative data of last-year university students who participated in an outdoor training experience, measuring its emotional competences and entrepreneurial orientation, before and after that experience. It contributes to the understanding on how changes in emotional competences affect the entrepreneurial intent of university students. Results indicate that changes in emotional competences, such as self-management, social awareness, and relationship management affect entrepreneurial orientation, particularly innovation and risk, affecting, thus, entrepreneurial intention.     

Dialogical strategies for orchestrating strategic innovation networks: The case of the Internet of Things

Strategic innovation has been shown to provide significant value for organisations whilst at the same time challenging traditional ways of thinking and working. There is less known, however, as to how organisations collaborate in innovation networks to achieve strategic innovation. In this paper we explore how innovation networks are orchestrated in developing a strategic innovation initiative around the Internet of Things. We show how a hub actor brings together a diverse group of actors to initially create and subsequently orchestrate the strategic innovation network through the employ of three dialogical strategies, namely persuasive projection, reflective development, and definitional control. Further, we illuminate how different types of legitimacy are established through these various dialogical strategies in orchestrating strategic innovation networks.     

Bridging the disconnect: how network creation facilitates female Bangladeshi entrepreneurship

Networking has been suggested as a tool to address the challenges of social entrepreneurs in severely resource constrained environments. Especially in countries where women do not usually take part in economic activities, like in Bangladesh, stimulating networking and entrepreneurship among women could have a high impact. We use longitudinal data gathered over two years, to study how entrepreneurial networks are developed and used by female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, and how a third party can stimulate network development. We followed 26 women from the start of their entrepreneurial development. Adopting a social capital perspective on network formation and development, we identified four essential strategies in building entrepreneurial networks: modifying and building on existing bonding networks, transferring linking ties, teaching how to build bridging networks, and the creation of a network of entrepreneurial peers. We found that a third party can successfully stimulate network development for the poorest in Bangladesh. We also found that the patterns of network development in this severely resource-constraint environment are remarkably different from those found in corporate studies. Our findings can contribute to developing new pathways to stimulate entrepreneurship in developing countries.     

University capability as a micro-foundation for the Triple Helix model: The case of China

By articulating the notion of university capability by distinguishing resources and capabilities, this paper aims to advance our understanding of the Triple Helix model from a micro-foundational perspective. From an external evaluative viewpoint, we suggest that university capability consists of (1) resource bases, (2) motivation/objectives, (3) resource allocation and coordination mechanisms, and (4) regional outcomes. Based on qualitative data collected from two leading Chinese cities in innovation and regional development, our study empirically elucidates two different approaches to deal with university capability. Our conceptualization of university capability may be a useful analytical tool to better understand the role of ‘university’ and its relationship with the other actors in the Triple Helix model.     

以创新思维构建三峡国家级综合交通运输物流枢纽

创建三峡综合交通运输枢纽,不仅有利于充分发挥长江黄金水道的优势,更是立足宜昌建成国家特大城市的现实需要,对促进宜昌乃至三峡区域的综合交通运输发展、服务一体化及产业经济集聚具有十分重要的意义。文中从统筹全局,适度超前的角度定位了三峡交通运输枢纽,并从4个创新的角度提出了构建国家级三峡交通运输枢纽的途径。     

Inside the high-tech black box: A critique of technology entrepreneurship policy

Promoting new technology-based firms is the cornerstone of technology entrepreneurship policies in advanced industrial economies. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative empirical evidence from the UK, this paper provides a critique of these policy frameworks. The aggregate analysis shows that vast majority of these firms are micro firms, a small minority of whom grow rapidly. The paper then highlights the incongruence between the nature of these firms and the public sector technology policies designed to support them. The qualitative data reveals that typically these firms are corporate rather than university spin-offs; most do not undertake large amounts of in-house R&D; most do not have protected IP; and only a small minority are VC-backed. Most derive their main competitive advantages from open innovation sources such as relationships with end-users and customers. The paper offers suggestions for how policy could be recalibrated to better reflect the requirements of local entrepreneurial actors and the types of support required by most high-tech SMEs.     

Processes in collaborative entrepreneurship: a longitudinal case study of how multiple actors exploit a radically new opportunity

In this longitudinal case study, the authors integrate the theory on social movement with the entrepreneurship literature on opportunity discovery, evaluation, and exploitation. They construct a model on collaborative entrepreneurial processes in which multiple partners are involved in identifying, forming, and exploiting an opportunity. Three interdependent subprocesses are identified: (1) the opportunity conceptualization dialogue, (2) resource mobilization and, (3) legitimacy building, which significantly contribute to our understanding of how individuals across different organizations become engaged in collaborative entrepreneurial processes. The model of collaborative entrepreneurial processes complements traditional models of the entrepreneurial process, which place the individual entrepreneur at the center of the process and does not consider group mobilization processes in which the actors aim to be creative and innovative in collaborating with actors from other organizations or firms.     

Gender and the commercialization of university science: academic founders of spinout companies

There is a great deal of interest in Europe and the USA on the commercialization of university science, particularly the creation of spinout companies from the science base. Despite considerable research on academic entrepreneurship, female entrepreneurship in general, and the causes of under-representation of female scientists in academic institutions, there has been little research on the influence of gender on academic entrepreneurship.

The study researches female founders of UK university spinout companies using information from the Internet on company founders of spinout companies from 20 leading universities. The proportion of female founders at 12% is very low. The paper explores reasons for this low representation through follow-up postal interviews of the 21 female founders identified, and a male control sample. Under-representation of female academic staff in science research is the dominant but not the only factor to explain low entrepreneurial rates amongst female scientists.

Owing to the low number of women in senior research positions in many leading science departments, few women had the chances to lead a spinout. This is a critical factor as much impetus for commercialization was initially inspired by external interest rather than internal evaluation of a commercial opportunity. External interest tended to target senior academics, which proportionally are mostly male. A majority of the women surveyed tended to be part of entrepreneurial teams involving senior male colleagues.

As a whole both male and female science entrepreneurs displayed similar motivations to entrepreneurship, but collectively as scientists differed appreciably from non academic entrepreneurs. Women science entrepreneurs also faced some additional problems in areas such as the conflict between work and home life and networks.     

创业型大学建设目标下教学主体激励机制研究

创业型大学建设目标越来越成为高校改革发展的重要选择。创业型发展模式的确立,必然要求在原有教学和科研领域引发相应变革,向创业型转型的微观基础是解决高校教学主体面向创业型大学建设目标的激励机制问题,其中教师是创业型大学的核心元素,对教学主体的激励问题尤为关键。从创业型大学的特色和发展模式认识出发,分析了创业型大学建设目标下的人才培养目标与教学要求,认为应着眼于倡导优胜劣汰、鼓励不拘一格创新、突出需求导向、扶持团队教研项目和强化业绩质量观,建立相应的教学体系激励机制。     

Managing campus entrepreneurship: Dynamic capabilities and university leadership

Much has been written about university–industry partnerships, but relatively little research has focused on the effects of such collaboration on conflict among university departments or on broader types of entrepreneurial behavior involving local, regional, and even global initiatives. This broader perspective, which we call “campus entrepreneurship,” offers more avenues for universities to establish a foundation for long-term success at a time when public support for higher education appears to be in decline. The dynamic capabilities framework and leadership theory developed in the fields of strategic management and organizational behavior, respectively, are applied herein to provide guidance to university leaders seeking to embrace a comprehensive multifaceted entrepreneurial approach to campus priorities and activities.     

Solving the Entrepreneurial Puzzle: The Role of Entrepreneurial Interpretation in Opportunity Formation and Related Processes

Opportunity formation plays a central role in the entrepreneurship literature. The two dominant perspectives on this topic (discovery view and creation view) tended to consider search and action as the main mechanisms. Drawing on strategic issue interpretation view and managerial cognition perspective, we argue for the inclusion of a third mechanism (entrepreneurial interpretation). Specifically, we develop the boundary assumptions and testable propositions of an entrepreneurial interpretation model. Then, we show how entrepreneurial interpretation informs both discovery and creation processes. Overall, our theory provides an expanded understanding of how individuals form and decide to exploit opportunities.