Alternative growth patterns of university spin-offs: why so many remain small?

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Nora Hesse
  • Rolf Sternberg
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)953-984
Number of pages32
JournalInternational Entrepreneurship and Management Journal
Volume13
Issue number3
Early online date29 Dec 2016
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2017

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide explanations for alternative growth patterns of university spin-offs using qualitative research methods. By matching the willingness of academic entrepreneurs to the ability of university spin-offs to grow, four basic types of university spin-offs are derived: ambitious, unwilling, saturated and impeded university spin-offs. By combining theoretical considerations from a specific concept of growth phases and empirical regularities from 68 university spin-offs we construct eight different subtypes of university spin-offs. The results show that the majority of university spin-offs either lacks entrepreneurial growth intentions or is impeded by reasons caused by personal characteristics of the academic entrepreneur, the university spin-off or the external environment. Some subtypes like life stylists, entrepreneurial academics and late bloomers face problems or share attitudes that are very specific in the context of university spin-offs. This paper contributes to the literature on university spin-off growth by providing an in-depth analysis of the underlying reasons for the founders’ willingness and ability to grow or not to grow. This study also reflects the heterogeneity of university spin-off growth and considers the evolutionary perspective. Growth is not only understood as a consequence of an economic process but also a personal and social process. In this way, this study augments the existing concepts of growth phases.

Keywords

    Academic entrepreneur, Business development, Entrepreneurship, Growth ability, Growth intention, University spin-off

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cite this

Alternative growth patterns of university spin-offs: why so many remain small? / Hesse, Nora; Sternberg, Rolf.
In: International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Vol. 13, No. 3, 09.2017, p. 953-984.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Hesse N, Sternberg R. Alternative growth patterns of university spin-offs: why so many remain small? International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. 2017 Sept;13(3):953-984. Epub 2016 Dec 29. doi: 10.1007/s11365-016-0431-6
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title = "Alternative growth patterns of university spin-offs: why so many remain small?",
abstract = "The aim of this paper is to provide explanations for alternative growth patterns of university spin-offs using qualitative research methods. By matching the willingness of academic entrepreneurs to the ability of university spin-offs to grow, four basic types of university spin-offs are derived: ambitious, unwilling, saturated and impeded university spin-offs. By combining theoretical considerations from a specific concept of growth phases and empirical regularities from 68 university spin-offs we construct eight different subtypes of university spin-offs. The results show that the majority of university spin-offs either lacks entrepreneurial growth intentions or is impeded by reasons caused by personal characteristics of the academic entrepreneur, the university spin-off or the external environment. Some subtypes like life stylists, entrepreneurial academics and late bloomers face problems or share attitudes that are very specific in the context of university spin-offs. This paper contributes to the literature on university spin-off growth by providing an in-depth analysis of the underlying reasons for the founders{\textquoteright} willingness and ability to grow or not to grow. This study also reflects the heterogeneity of university spin-off growth and considers the evolutionary perspective. Growth is not only understood as a consequence of an economic process but also a personal and social process. In this way, this study augments the existing concepts of growth phases.",
keywords = "Academic entrepreneur, Business development, Entrepreneurship, Growth ability, Growth intention, University spin-off",
author = "Nora Hesse and Rolf Sternberg",
note = "Funding information: This work was prepared in the context of the research project “University spin-offs in Lower Saxony and their regional economic impact: empirical evidence from Hannover and G{\"o}ttingen”. It was funded from 2010 to 2013 by the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, Germany, grant no. AZ. 76202-17-5/09. Our special thanks go to the research team member Arne Vorderw{\"u}lbecke as well as the interviewees for spending their valuable time and sharing their deeply interesting insights. Furthermore, we would like to thank J{\"u}rgen Br{\"u}njes at the German Centre for Research on Higher Education and Science Studies (DZHW), Christoph Alfken and other colleagues at the Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography of the Leibniz Universit{\"a}t Hannover as well as the participants at the 17th Annual Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship Conference (G-Forum 2013) and 17th Uddevalla Symposium 2014 for their valuable comments on an earlier draft.",
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AU - Sternberg, Rolf

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