A knowledge-based typology of university spin-offs in the context of regional economic development |
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| Authors: | Harald Bathelt Dieter F. Kogler Andrew K. Munro |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Toronto, Department of Political Science, Sidney Smith Hall, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 3G3;2. Department of Geography and Program in Planning, Sidney Smith Hall, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 3G3;3. Martin Prosperity Institute, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, 101 College Street, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5G 1L7;4. University of Toronto, Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, Victoria College, 91 Charles Street West, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 1K7;1. Delft University of Technology, Department of Values Technology and Innovation, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Jaffalaan 5, 2628BX Delft, The Netherlands;2. Wageningen University, Management Studies Group, Hollandseweg 1, NL 6707KN Wageningen, The Netherlands;3. VU University, Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;1. Bodø Graduate School of Business, University of Nordland, N-8049 Bodø, Norway;2. Institute for Enterprise and Innovation, Nottingham University Business School, Jubilee Campus, Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK;3. Centre for Management Buy-out Research, Imperial College Business School, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK;4. University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium |
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| Abstract: | Drawing on the literature pertaining to the role universities play in promoting technology transfer, this paper develops an insightful conceptualization of spin-off processes, and applies it to a current regional case study. The suggested typology of university spin-off/start-up firms is based on several variables, including the type of university sponsorship, university involvement in firm formation, the character of knowledge applied, and co-localization of the founders. The empirical case study is used to demonstrate the usefulness of this approach in analyzing spin-off firms, and their dynamics. The study is based on interviews conducted with university spin-offs/start-ups in the information technology (IT) sector located in the Kitchener and Guelph metropolitan areas. This region, which is home to the University of Waterloo – one of Canada’s premier science and technology universities – has experienced an impetus of spin-off processes originating from university research dating back to the 1970s.The results of our analysis expose several trends: Sponsored spin-offs are largely the result of particular university research projects, and apply specific knowledge inputs in the development of their initial core technology. Unsponsored spin-offs, which find their foundation in decentralized idea development outside of the university setting, almost entirely rely on generic broad knowledge bases for the development of innovative products and services, which have enabled the firm-formation process. Overall, it is surprising that even firms that have received some form of university support described the role the University of Waterloo had in their start-up process as marginal. The dynamic research approach applied in this study, which outlines the university’s changing role over time and the regional dynamics associated with spin-off firms, further demonstrates the potential of our typology. As such, our typology of university-related start-up/spin-off firms is designed to support studies concerned with the wider impact of universities on technology transfer and regional development. |
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