Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Spin-outs'

This research work focuses on the factors which lead investors to finance university spin-outs. The achieved results related to spin-out companies in the United Kingdom are based on empirical evidence from Imperial College London. The characteristics of a sample of 557 university spin-outs have been examined in order to understand the investors’ attitude towards financing this typology of companies. The outputs of this study demonstrate that official spin-out companies supported by Imperial College are more likely to receive an investment. Furthermore, it is also shown that investors are not inclined to finance academic spin-outs in which the board of directors includes academics who are mainly involved in researching and teaching activities.

This study explores why some university spin-outs (USOs) are able to attract first venture capital (VC) investment. Furthermore, factors including first VC investment are associated with USO’s superior firm performance. The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm is replicated and extended with signalling theory. VC firms (supply-side seeking to reduce uncertainty and information asymmetry problems request positive ‘signals’ from entrepreneurs and firms (demand-side). Entrepreneurs can provide such ‘signals of quality’ relating to their own as well as their firms’ resources. Hypotheses were derived accordingly. This is the first nationwide study using cross-sectional data from British USOs on a firm and founder level related to attracting first VC investment and firm performance. A population of 505 British USOs founded between 1990 and 2007 that were still active in 2008 was identified. Founders of 125 USOs participated in an online survey (25% response rate). No response biases were detected. Secondary data sources provided information on financing and performance. Hypotheses were tested with regression techniques. Key findings on the attraction of first VC investment support the joint framework of the RBV of the firm and signalling theory. The most prominent signals of quality were experienced and reputable founding teams (specific human capital), network links to VC investors (networks), firm-owned IP, patented IP (intellectual capital) and founders who were professor (general human capital). USOs with public backed equity (finance) avoided an ‘equity gap’ when seeking less than £500,000 of VC. USOs with radical innovation (intellectual capital) were less likely to attract generalist VC firms. Key findings on factors related to superior firm performance suggest the importance of USO’s internal resources as implied by the RBV of the firm. Strategic alliances (networks) and USOs with VC investment reported superior firm performance. However, generalist VC firms performed better than industry specialists. VC investment reduced the direct influence of experienced and reputable founding teams (specific human capital) and founders who were professors (general human capital) related to firm performance. Former important signals to attract first VC investment such as patented IP, firm-owned IP (intellectual capital) and public backed equity investments (finance) were not related to firm performance. Best practices and recommendations on how USOs can overcome barriers to attracting first VC investment and achieve superior firm performance are made for several practitioner groups. Limitations and areas of future research are discussed.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, February 1999.
"September 1998."
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-157).
by Eric A. Powers.
Ph.D.

Orientador: Sergio Luiz Monteiro Salles Filho
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias
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Resumo: O objetivo deste estudo é investigar o processo de desenvolvimento de spin-offs acadêmicos, enfatizando o papel que as universidades desempenham em seu fomento e em sua criação. Para atingir o objetivo, estudou-se 47 spin-offs da UNICAMP, identificando suas características gerais e caracterizando seus relacionamentos com a Universidade. A partir dessas informações, identificaram-se as principais ações e aspectos institucionais da Unicamp que contribuem para o desenvolvimento de spin-offs e para o suporte às empresas já estabelecidas. O estudo mostrou que as spin-offs da Unicamp estão concentradas em nove setores de atividade de intensa utilização de conhecimentos e tecnologias, 85% delas realizam P&D, geraram 3.265 empregos diretos e faturaram entre R$ 471 milhões e R$ 837 milhões, em 2007, e o faturamento conjunto é crescente. Seus fundadores, assim como a maior parte de seus colaboradores, têm elevado nível de formação acadêmica. Com relação aos aspectos institucionais, o estudo evidenciou a Unicamp como uma "universidade empreendedora", pois, dentre outros, possui estruturas dedicadas à interação e à formação de empresas, realiza transferência de tecnologia e relaciona-se com diversos atores do processo de inovação. Constatou-se que a maioria das relações com a Unicamp é informal e as empresas que estão ou estiveram em incubadoras são as que mais se relacionam com a Unicamp e mais formal é o relacionamento. A formação profissional é uma das principais colaborações que a Unicamp oferece às spin-offs. O estudo também mostrou que o relacionamento da Unicamp com suas spin-offs não possui políticas definidas e tem sido estimulado apenas recentemente. Com relação ao fomento à cultura empreendedora e à criação de empresas, destaca-se o papel das empresas juniores e da promoção de eventos como estimuladores do empreendedorismo, a carência na oferta de cursos no tema na Unicamp, a falta de sinergia entre as diferentes ações na universidade e a incipiência do programa de incubação e o baixo número de empresas que ele atende.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the development process of academic spin-offs, emphasizing the role played by universities in fostering and nurturing them. To attain the objective, the study was drawn on an analysis of 47 spin-offs from Campinas State University (UNICAMP) and identifies their main characteristics and aspects of their relations with the University. Building on these information, we identified the main actions and institutional aspects of UNICAMP that contributed to the development and nurturing of spin-offs companies. The analysis shows that UNICAMP's spin-offs are concentrated in nine technology and knowledge-intensive sectors, 85% realizes R&D activities, they have created 3.265 jobs and generated a total income between R$ 471million and R$ 837 million, in 2007, and their income is increasing. Their founders, as well as most of their collaborators, have a high level academic degree. Regarding the institutional aspects, the study evidenced UNICAMP as an "entrepreneurial university", because, among other factors, it has supportive structures to companies' creation, manages technology transfer and interacts with different actors of the innovation process. It was also evidenced that most of the relations with UNICAMP occurs on an informal basis and companies that are (or were) incubated have a more intensive and formal relation with the University. Education is one of the main contributions of UNICAMP to spin-offs companies. The study has also showed that there is no police at UNICAMP to manage its relations with spin-offs. These relations have been only recently stimulated. Concerning the fostering of entrepreneurial culture and development of companies, it emphasizes the role of Junior Companies and the organization of events as facilitators of entrepreneurialism. However, the study also shows a lack of entrepreneurial learning at UNICAMP, a lack of synergy between different actions within the University and an incipient incubation program and a low number of companies it supports.
Mestrado
Mestre em Política Científica e Tecnológica

Cette thèse explore les dynamiques complexes des relations interorganisationnelles entre les entreprises créées par des employés ou d'anciens employés (spin-outs) et leurs employeurs précédents (entreprises mères). Dans les trois essais de ma thèse, j'utilise les données compilées par l'INSEE - l'Institut National de la Statistique français - pour combiner plusieurs vagues d'enquêtes sur les entrepreneurs avec les informations financières de toutes les entreprises françaises et également avec un ensemble de données liant historique de travail des employés et entreprises employeurs. Grâce à cet ensemble de données longitudinales et représentatives au niveau national, j'identifie les entreprises créées par des employés et leurs relations avec leurs entreprises mères, ce qui me permet de théoriser sur les dynamiques relationnelles entre ces entreprises. Plus précisément, dans les trois essais qui composent cette thèse, j'étudie les relations collaboratives, compétitives ou coopétitives entre les entreprises mères et les entreprises créées par des employés, ainsi que les conséquences de ces relations. Dans le premier chapitre, j'examine les facteurs qui influencent la formation des différents types de relations (collaboratives, compétitives et coopétitives) entre les entreprises créées par des employés et leurs entreprises mères. En réalisant une série de modèles de régression multinomiale sur 5 973 dyades parents-employés, je montre que les connaissances spécifiques à l'industrie et le niveau de diffusion de ces connaissances influencent le type de relation qui sera établi entre la spin-out et l'entreprise mère. Le deuxième chapitre se concentre sur la mesure de l'impact du soutien des entreprises mères sur la survie et la performance des spin-outs. En suivant 48 604 entreprises créées par des employés français, je démontre que les spin-outs ayant reçu un support de leur entreprise mère ont de meilleurs taux de survie et des revenus plus élevés. Cependant, je théorise et montre que l'avantage économique attribué à ce soutien diminue avec le temps. Dans le troisième chapitre, j'étudie comment le type de relation des spin-outs avec leur entreprise mère affecte la performance de ces dernières. En utilisant une série de modèles de type "différence in differences", je montre que les événements de création de spin-out ont tendance à nuire aux entreprises mères, en particulier si les nouvelles entreprises sont dans une relation de compétition sur le même marché que leurs parents. Cependant, les entreprises mères peuvent compenser ces effets négatifs en établissant des relations collaboratives ou coopétitives avec les spin-outs. Dans l'ensemble, cette thèse offre un examen complet des moteurs et des conséquences des relations parents-employés, mettant en lumière les dynamiques complexes entre les spin-outs et leurs entreprises mères. Les résultats contribuent à la littérature sur les relations interorganisationnelles, les créations d'entreprises et l'entrepreneuriat des employés, fournissant des informations précieuses pour les chercheurs, les praticiens et les décideurs politiques
This dissertation explores the complex dynamics of interorganizational relationships between employee spin-outs – i.e., ventures created by employees or ex-employees – and their previous employers (parent firms). In the three essays of my dissertation, I combine multiple waves of a survey of entrepreneurs conducted by the INSEE – the French National Institute of Statistics – with a dataset containing the financial information of all French enterprises and a linked employer-employee database. With this longitudinal, nationally representative, and unique combination of datasets, I identify the employee ventures and their relationships with their parents, allowing me to theorize about the relational dynamics between these firms. Specifically, in the three essays comprising this dissertation, I investigate the drivers of collaborative, competitive, and coopetitive parent-employee relationships and the consequences of these relationships to the parent and employee ventures. In the first chapter, I examine what influences the formation of different relationships between employee ventures and their parent firms. Conducting a series of multinomial regression models on 5,973 parent-employee dyads, I show that the spin-out’s industry-specific knowledge and the overall knowledge diffusion rate in its industry influence the likelihood of establishing collaborative, competitive, or coopetitive relationships. The second chapter focuses on the impact of parent support on the survival and performance of spin-outs. Tracking 48,604 French employee ventures, I demonstrate that supported spin-outs have better survival rates and higher revenue. However, I theorize and show that the economic advantage attributed to this support diminishes over time. In the third chapter, I investigate how the creation of employee ventures with different types of parent-employee relationships affects parent firms’ performance. Using a series of difference-in-differences models, I show that spin-out events tend to harm parent firms’ performance as captured by return on assets, especially if the new ventures compete in the same market as their parents. However, the parent firms may offset the adverse effects of these events by engaging in collaborative or coopetitive relationships with their employee ventures.Taken together, the studies that comprise this dissertation offer a comprehensive and novel examination of the drivers and consequences of parent-employee relationships, shedding light on the intricate dynamics between employee spin-outs and their parent firms. The findings contribute to the literature on interorganizational relationships, nascent enterprises, and employee entrepreneurship, providing valuable insights for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers alike

Thesis (S.M.)--Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, 2009.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-69).
Corporate spin-outs have become more frequent in the contemporary business environment as an alternate source of risk diversification and value creation for both the parent and external investors. Once established, corporate spin-outs are often perceived to be of higher quality than their counterparts in the industry; previous studies have shown that they tend to receive higher valuations in financing, faster financing and higher preference by prestigious Wall Street investment banks when they decide to go public. The primary objective of this thesis was to compare the net proceeds associated with successful liquidity events (IPO or M&A) for US based therapeutic-focused corporate spin-outs to industry averages and test the hypothesis that corporate spin-outs generate superior returns. A database containing information on 186 corporate spin-outs within the life sciences (founded from 1990 - present) was generated for the purpose of testing this hypothesis. Net proceeds from corporate spin-out liquidity events were compared to median net proceeds of all biotech/pharmaceutical liquidity events for a given vintage year and type of liquidity event (IPO vs. M&A). Liquidity events were observed with a
(cont.) higher frequency than overall industry averages. Results indicated that net IPO proceeds were similar to industry averages, while M&A proceeds were above the median vintage year value for every case observed. When normalizing by the most advanced clinical stage program, a similar trend was observed in three of the five cases. In addition, internal rate of return (IRR) and cash on cash exit multiple for Series A investors was substantially higher in corporate spin-outs than industry averages. In order to understand why acquisitions of corporate spin-outs appeared to generate sizable excess returns relative to industry averages, qualitative interviews were conducted with former executives involved in these transactions. Key insights from these interviews indicate that a seasoned management team, prestige of parent company, high quality syndicate of investors, clinically proven technology and a clear regulatory path to approval are all elements that help drive excess valuations of corporate spin-outs in the life sciences. We conclude that corporate spin-outs do generate superior returns through M&A exits compared to venture-backed start ups, while proceeds from IPO's were similar to case controls.
by Michael Robert Magnani.
S.M.

The aim of this study is to reduce the ambiguity of the university technology transfer (UTT) process by monitoring the interactions and the antecedent factors, including prior knowledge and experience, of the key stakeholders – University Technology Transfer Managers (TTMs) and Academic Entrepreneurs (AEs) –in the creation of university spin-out. This study develops a novel conceptual framework by using absorptive capacity (AC) to understand the determinants that constitute university spin-out AC, the role of TTMs and AEs and the impact of their collaborative and synergistic relationship upon different stages of the spin-out process. Based on the exploratory nature of this research, this study adopts a multiple case study methodology and qualitative approach to investigate relationship building and collaboration between university AEs and TTMs within the process of spin-out. The investigation was made up of thirteen case studies with twenty-six interviewees (thirteen TTMs and thirteen AEs, as pairs), from eleven universities across the UK. The research findings reveal that prior knowledge (consisting of experience, background, networks, personal attributes, and motivation) is of great value to both TTMs and AEs, as it shapes and highlights the complementary function of each of their roles in the spin-out process, and contributes to spin-out AC in various ways. Prior knowledge also helps TTMs and AEs to act as the cornerstone of university spin-out combinative capabilities (that is, shared language, connectedness, close communication, tighter interaction, and trust building), which facilitate the spin-out process and assist AC development as a whole through their synergistic effect. This study adds to the UTT and AC literature by addressing antecedent factors, explorative and exploitative learning, and areas for possible improvement of AE and TTM collaboration and of the spin-out process as a whole. It aims to provide a more explicit understanding of the process of UTT and the stakeholders involved, leading to better control and development of UTT related activity, and contributes both to present and future research and to policy making.

Academic knowledge and technology transfer has been growing in importance both in academic research and practice. A critical question in managing this activity is how to evaluate its effectiveness. The literature shows an increasing number of studies done to address this question; however, it also reveals important gaps that need more research. One novel approach is to evaluate the effectiveness of this activity from an organizational point of view, which is to measure how much knowledge and technology transfer from a university fulfills the mission of the institution. This research develops a Hierarchical Decision Model (HDM) to measure the contribution values of various knowledge and technology transfer mechanisms to the achievement of the mission. The performance values obtained from the university under investigation are applied to the model to develop a Knowledge and Technology Transfer Effectiveness Index for that university. The Index helps an academic institution assess the current performance of its knowledge and technology transfer with respect to its mission. This robust model also helps decision makers discover areas where the university is performing well, or needs to pay more attention. In addition, the university can benchmark its own performance against its peers in order to set up a roadmap for improvement. It is proved that this is the first index in the literature which truly evaluates the effectiveness of university knowledge and technology transfer from an organizational perspective. It is also the first method that incorporates hard data of university technology transfer and expert judgments into the evaluation of the effectiveness of the activity. Practitioners in the area of academic technology transfer can also apply this evaluation model to quantitatively evaluate the performance of their institutions for strategic decision making purposes.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The role of the media as a watchdog for the social institution of science is viewed as part of the media’s role to protect society. In this regard, the role of media was studied in reporting the phenomenon of the commercialisation of academic research at universities. The current study was conducted by analysing articles in 2 scientific journals (Science and Nature) and 4 printed newspapers (The New York Times, London Times, Mail & Gaurdian, Business Day) for the year 2003. The methods of investigation for each publication included the number of articles covering the topic, the percentage coverage, headline analysis, summary of contents and analysis of the themes. The New York Times had more articles on the topic of the “commercialisation of science at universities” than the other publications. However, based on the number of issues per year, Science and Nature had a greater coverage of the topic than The New York Times. Based on the analyses of the articles, it is concluded that The New York Times had the most balanced and informed coverage of all the issues and stakeholders involved in the commercialisation of science at universities. This is attributed to the The New York Times’s position of standing outside the realm of science and its experience in covering broad issues.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die rol van die media as ‘n waghond vir die sosiale instelling van die wetenskap, word gesien as deel van die media se rol as die beskermer van die samelewing. In hierdie opsig is die media se rol in die verslaglewering van die kommersialisering van die wetenskap by universiteite ondersoek. Hierdie studie is uitgevoer deur artikels in 2 wetenskaplike vaktydskrifte (Science en Nature) en 4 koerante (The New York Times, London Times, Mail & Guardian, Business Day) vir die jaar 2003, te analiseer. Die metodes wat gebruik is om elke artikel te ontleed, het die aantal artikels, die persentasie van artikels in elke publikasie, hoofopskrif analise, opsomming van inhoud en ‘n analise van die artikel se tema, ingesluit. The New York Times het meer artikels omtrent die onderwerp, die “kommersialisering van die wetenskap by universiteite”, as die ander publikasies gehad. Gebaseer op die aantal uitgawes per jaar, het Science en Nature meer aandag geskenk aan die onderwerp as The New York Times. Volgens die analises van die artikels, word afgeleui dat The New York Times die mees gebalanseerde en ingeligte dekking gehad het oor die betrokke sake en partye in die “kommersialisering van die wetenskap by universiteite”. Dit word toegeskryf aan die The New York Times se posisie as buitestaander in die wetenskap en die koerant se ondervinding om ‘n wye veld te dek.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015.
Universities have long been recognised as sources of knowledge creation, innovation and technological advancements. Interest in academic entrepreneurship and the establishment of university spin-off companies has grown in South Africa over the past 10 years. South Africa’s national research and development strategy argues that economic growth and wealth generation are founded on innovation. The area of university entrepreneurial behaviour and technology commercialisation has attracted much research attention in recent years especially as more innovative solutions are sought for the world’s ever growing socioeconomic challenges. In view of this, the South African government has made considerable and various efforts to promote the creation and commercialisation of research output in the university context. Against the aforementioned, this study seeks to understand the position of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) as a university of technology in terms of commercialisation and technology creation since the 2005 merger. More specifically, the study seeks to understand the dynamics surrounding the creation and transfer of technology in South Africa, using CPUT as a case study.

National innovative performance is a key driver for sustainable growth (Pavitt, 1980). National innovative capacity may be improved by fostering industrial Research and Development (R&D), by funding academic research and by effectively supporting university-industry interactions in order to strengthen the linkage between R&D and product development. In a context of growing relevance of external sources of innovation, where the industry, rather than relying on internal R&D, increasingly engages in ‘open innovation’ (Chesbrough, 2006), the role played by universities is crucial. The essays presented in this thesis focus mainly on academic R&D and knowledge transfer mechanisms from the university viewpoint, as opposed to government or industry perspectives. These essays contribute to our understanding of how universities organise themselves to adapt to this changing context. In other words, the thesis looks at the ‘reflexivity’ norm of the system associated with the entrepreneurial university, as established by Etzkowitz (2004); or “a continuing renovation of the internal structure of the university as its relation to industry and government changes, and of industry and government as their relationship to the university is revised”.

Universities play a major role in the national innovative capacity of a country as producers and transmitters of new knowledge (see for instance, Adams, 1990; Mansfield, 1991; Klevorick et al. 1995; Zucker et al. 1998; Cohen et al. 2002; Arundel and Geuna, 2004; Guellec and van Pottelsberghe, 2004). While European countries play a leading global role in terms of scientific output, they lag behind in the ability to convert this strength into wealth-generating innovations (this is known as the ‘European paradox’, see for instance Tijssen and van Wijk, 1999; and Dosi et al. 2005). This level of innovation may be improved by different factors; for instance, by fostering an entrepreneurial culture, or by increasing industry’s willingness to develop new products, new processes. One of these factors relies on the notion of an ‘entrepreneurial university’. Universities, in addition to the two traditional missions of research and teaching, foster their third mission of contribution to society, by improving the transfer of knowledge to the industry. New tools and regulations have been established to support universities in this process. Since the early 80’s, academic technology transfer offices (TTOs) have been created, dedicated employees have been trained and hired, incubators for the launch of new academic ventures have been set up, academic or independent pre-seed investment funds have been founded and laws related to the ownerships by university of their invented-patents have been promulgated.

But what exactly stands behind the notion of ‘entrepreneurial university’? There exist more different descriptions of a similar concept or of a similar evolution than a general agreed definition. Indeed, "(…) There is high heterogeneity, there is no such thing as a typical university, and there is no typical way to be or become an entrepreneurial university" (Martinelli et al. 2008, p.260). However some similar patterns of what is or should be an entrepreneurial university may be identified.

First, there is this notion of a revolution experienced by universities that now have to integrate a third mission of contributing to economic development aside of their traditional academic missions. “(…) But in the most advanced segments of the worldwide university system, a ‘second revolution’ takes off. The entrepreneurial university integrates economic development into the university as an academic function along with teaching and research. It is this ‘capitalisation of knowledge’ that is the heart of a new mission for the university, linking universities to users of knowledge more tightly and establishing the university as an economic actor in its own right” (Etzkowitz, 1998, p.833).

This revolution finds its origin in a necessary adaptation of universities to an external changing environment where modern societies put a strong emphasis on knowledge. “The concept of the entrepreneurial university envisions an academic structure and function that is revised through the alignment of economic development with research and teaching as academic missions. The transformation of academia from a ‘secondary’ to a ‘primary’ institution is a heretofore unexpected outcome of the institutional development of modern society (Mills, 1958). In consequence, the knowledge industry in modern societies is no longer a minor affair run by an intellectual elite, an activity that might be considered by pragmatic leaders as expendable; it is a mammoth enterprise on a par with heavy industry, and just as necessary to the country in which it is situated (Graham, 1998, p.129)”, quoted by Etzkowitz et al. (2000, p.329).

The notion of an ‘entrepreneurial university’ also exceeds the simple idea of the protection of academic intellectual property by patents owned by universities and their out-licensing as well as the launch of new ventures. It encompasses an overall change of how the university is organised. “In the gruesome and heady world of changing external environments, organizations – including universities – will need to seek opportunities beyond their existing competences (Hamel and Prahalad, 1989, 1994), which suggests the need for an entrepreneurial orientation (Lumpkin and Dess, 1996)”, quoted by Glassman et al. (2003, p.356). This entrepreneurial orientation will only be possible if the overall organisation of the university changes. “An entrepreneurial university, on its own, actively seeks to innovate how it goes about its business. It seeks to work out a substantial shift in organizational character so as to arrive at a more promising posture for the future. Entrepreneurial universities seek to become 'stand-up' universities that are significant actors on their own terms” (Clark, 1998, p.4).

The notion of entrepreneurial university also encompasses the concept of academic entrepreneurship in its broad sense. For a university to become entrepreneurial, individual academics also have to adapt and to behave in an entrepreneurial way. This concept is not solely conceived here as the launching of new ventures by academics (a view embraced by Shane, 2004, for instance). It relates more to the view of Stevenson, Roberts and Grousbeck (1989), referenced by Glassman et al. (2003, p.354) or “the process of creating and seizing an opportunity and pursuing it to create something of value regardless of current available resources.”

The difficulty facing universities is then to adapt to their external environment while preserving the integrity of their two traditional academic missions. However, some conceive this challenge as precisely an ability that characterise the very intrinsic university’s nature. "The uniqueness of the university,(…) lies in its protean capacity to change its shape and function to suit its temporal and sociopolitical environment while retaining enough continuity to deserve its unchanging name” (Perkin, 1984, p.18).

Furthermore, others perceive this challenge as a tension that has always been at the root of the university’s character. “The cherished view of some academics that higher education started out on the Acropolis of scholarship and was desecrated by descent into the Agora of materialistic pursuit led by ungodly commercial interests and scheming public officials and venal academic leaders is just not true for the university systems that have developed at least since 1200 A.D. If anything, higher education started in the Agora, the market place, at the bottom of the hill and ascended to the Acropolis on the top of the hill… Mostly it has lived in tension, at one and the same time at the bottom of the hill, at the top of the hill, and on many paths in between” (Kerr, 1988, p.4; quoted by Glassman, 2003, p.353).

Nevertheless, it appears that some institutions, the ones integrating the best their different missions and being the most ‘complete’ in terms of the activities they perform, will be better positioned to overcome this second revolution than other institutions. “Since science-based innovations increasingly have a multidisciplinary character and build on "difficult-to-codify" people-centred interactions, university-based systems of industry science links, which combine basic and applied research with a broader education mission, are seen as enjoying a comparative advantage relative to research institutes” (OECD, 2001 quoted by Debackere and Veugeleers, 2005, p.324). Or as stated by Geuna (1998, p.266), in his analysis of the way the different historical trajectories of European universities are influencing their ability to adapt to the current changing environment, “ (…) the renowned institutions of Cluster IV (pre-war institutions, large in size, with high research output and productivity) are in a strong position both scientifically and politically, and can exercise bargaining power in their relations with government and industry. (…) On the other side, universities in the other two clusters (new postwar universities, characterised by small size, low research output and low research orientation and productivity, whether involved in technological research or in teaching), with very low research grants from government, are pushed to rely more heavily on industrial funding. Being in a weak financial position, they may find themselves in an asymmetric bargaining relationship with industry that they may be unable to manage effectively.”

To summarize, one could attempt to define the broad notion of an ‘entrepreneurial university’ as follows. An entrepreneurial university is a university that adapts to the current changing environment that puts a stronger emphasis on knowledge, by properly integrating the third mission or the capitalisation of knowledge aside of its two traditional missions. This adaptation requires a radical change in the way the university is organised. It will require important strategic reorientation from the top but also, and mainly, it will require from the individual academics to better seize new opportunities to generate value (not only financial but also scientific or academic) given scarcer resources. Renowned and complete universities (with teaching, basic and applied research) have an edge over other institutions to overcome this second revolution.

This notion of ‘entrepreneurial university’ has drawn criticisms. For example, academics’ interactions with industry could impact negatively on research activities by reorienting fundamental research towards more applied research projects (Cohen and Randazzese, 1996; David, 2000), by restricting academic freedom (Cohen et al. 1994; Blumenthal et al. 1996; Blumenthal et al. 1997), or by potentially reducing scientific productivity (see for instance van Zeebroeck et al. 2008 for a review on this issue). The present work does not address the issue of the impact of increased interactions with the business sector on traditional academic missions nor the question of whether universities should become entrepreneurial or not. Instead, the essays start from the idea that the ‘entrepreneurial university’ notion is part of the intrinsic nature of modern universities, or at least, is a part of its evolution. Industry-university relationships are not a new phenomenon; it can be traced at least to the mid- to late-1800s in Europe and to at least the industrial revolution in the USA (Hall et al. 2001). What is evolving is the nature of such relationships that become more formal. The present analysis starts then from the general observation that some universities (and researchers) are more entrepreneurially-oriented and better accept this mission than others. From that stems the primary research question addressed in this thesis: are there characteristics or conditions leading to a smooth coexistence of traditional and new academic missions inside an entrepreneurial university? And if so, what are they?

Existing work on the entrepreneurial university is a nascent but already well developed field of research. The aimed contribution of this thesis is to analyse the topic under three specific but complementary angles. These three perspectives are explored into the four main chapters of this work, structured as follows. Chapter 1 is titled “Turning science into business: A case study of a traditional European research university”. It introduces the topic by investigating the dynamics at play that may explain the propensity of a traditional, research-oriented university to start generate entrepreneurial outputs, while being not full-fledge entrepreneurially organised. Exploring the importance of “new” entrepreneurial outputs, as defined as patents and spin-off companies, compared to other ways of transferring new knowledge to the industry, Chapter 2 reviews the literature on the variety of knowledge transfer mechanisms (KTMs) used in university-industry interactions. It is titled “University-Industry interactions and knowledge transfer mechanisms: a critical survey”. Given scarcer structural funds for academic research and increasing pressure on academics to diversify their activities in terms of being involved in patenting or spin-off launching, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 investigate the role played by individual characteristics of researchers in attracting competitive, external funding. Chapter 3 presents stylised facts related to external fundraising at ULB and characteristics of researchers who attracted these funds over the period 1998-2008. The empirical analysis on associations between individual characteristics of researchers (intrinsic, scientific and entrepreneurial) and the extent of funds attracted from different sources (national, regional and business) is presented in Chapter 4, titled “The determinants of academic fundraising.” Chapter 5 concludes and suggests ideas for future investigation on this topic. Chapter 6, in appendix of the present work, titled “A note on the drivers of R&D intensity”, is not directly linked to the issue of the entrepreneurial university. It has been included to complement the studied topic and to put in perspective the present work. Academic research and university-industry interactions constitute important drivers of a national R&D and innovation system. Other factors are at play as well. Looking at this issue at the macroeconomic level, Chapter 6 investigates to what extent the industrial structure of a country influences the observed R&D intensity, and hence would bias the well-known country rankings based on aggregate R&D intensity.

Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.
This study focuses on academic entrepreneurship. It commences with a literature review on international trends in academic entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on incentive schemes used by selected countries to encourage innovativeness in academic institutions. Linkages between these incentives schemes and the improvement in the level of innovations made are demonstrated. This study will also show that in some countries, such as Brazil and Finland, these innovation incentives have led to the formation of start-up companies and an increased number of patents. The international scenario in academic entrepreneurship is linked to the South African scenario, as presented in the chapter on the science and technology landscape in South Africa. The main focus of the South African scenario will be on the National Innovation Competition (NIC), which is an instrument of the Innovation Fund specifically aimed at encouraging and providing innovation incentives at the level of higher education institutions. This research report also provide findings of interviews with different people within the academic entrepreneurship fraternity as well as an assessment of the differences between the winning and the non-winning business plans, which are used as a basis of providing incentives to the winners of the NIC. Recommendations are made in an attempt to provide solutions to the challenges encountered in the NIC at both institutional levels, as participants, and at government level, as funders of the NIC. This will hopefully improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the NIC. Although the NIC was only started in 2004, it is envisaged that areas of improvement can be identified at this early stage. This, coupled with the lessons learnt from the international literature review, will provide a mechanism that will make the NIC a powerful instrument to encourage innovation at HEI (Higher Education Institution) level. The conclusions drawn from this report include lessons learnt from the international literature review.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Constant and aggressive change is a characteristic that has shaped our present day life and occurs at all levels of society. In a new South Africa, an entrepreneurial approach has become a means of survival. Modern day South Africans have been compelled to adopt an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset in order to function optimally. For the higher education sector, this has meant the commercialisation of many aspects of their operations due to yearly cuts in subsidy allocations. Stellenbosch University is not exempt from this and is also affected by these cuts. The goal of this study is therefore to provide an internationally researched conceptual model and process for commercialising academic research at Stellenbosch University. This will require the adoption of an entrepreneurial mindset which views research differently from its traditional mode. By moving away from an academic view of research, new partnerships, opportunities and outcomes become possible, from which new revenue avenues could be opened. The question arises as to what technological innovations are likely to result in commercial success and what route should a university then take to successfully commercialise their research findings? Finding practical answers to these questions could provide a platform from which a university can make accurate and timely decisions with regards to the commercialisation of its academic research. Accurate decision-making is therefore an essential tool in the management of this process. Commercialisation is not viable without first creating an innovative mindset and platform. These cannot be created without first understanding the concept of newness. Consistent newness requires continuous innovation, from which academic entrepreneurship then stems. The successful commercialisation of this entrepreneurship can then be understood by considering the various concepts and basic components involved in commercialisation. A broad look at literature provided the basis for this platform from which a model could then be constructed. In constructing the model, the key components were first identified. Secondly, a brief look at four different commercialsiation models provided an overview of the thought pattems involved in such a process. The synthesis of these components and models culminated in a conceptual model for commercialisation within the Stellenbosch University environment. This model included the tangible and intangible side of commercialisation, incorporating organisational mindset, attitudes and culture.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Konstante en omvattende verandering is 'n kenmerk van die eietydse samelewing en raak alle sosiale vlakke. 'n Entrepreneuriese benadering het in die nuwe Suid-Afrika 'n middel tot oorlewing geword. Eietydse Suid-Afrikaners word genoodsaak om innoverend en ondernemend te wees ten einde optimaal te kan funksioneer. Dit impliseer dat tersiere instellings byvoorbeeld baie van hul bedrywighede moet kommersialiseer, weens toenemende besnoeiings in subsidiering. Die Universiteit van Stellenbosch word insgelyks deur hierdie besnoeiings geraak. Die doel van hierdie studie is die ontwerp van 'n konsepsuele model en proses vir kommersialisering van akademiese navorsing vir die Universiteit van Stellenbosch, gebaseer op internasionale navorsing. Dit vereis 'n entrepreneuriese denkwyse wat navorsing anders benader as in die verlede. Deur weg te beweeg van 'n suiwer akademiese siening van navorsing, word nuwe vennootskappe, geleenthede en uitkomste moontlik, en skep sodoende ook nuwe bronne van inkomste. Tegniese innoverings wat prakties en uitvoerbaar is kan moontlik as platform dien vir hierdie kommersialisering. Dit veronderstel toepaslike besluitneming as noodsaaklike middel in die bestuur van die proses. 'n Nadere deurskouing van konsepte onderliggend aan suksesvolle kommersialisering van entrepreneurskap, tesame met 'n bree oorsig van navorsing in hierdie verband, het die basis gevorm vir die ontwerp van 'n model. Kernkomponente is eerstens identifiseer. Bestaande modelle het tweedens 'n oorsig van denkpatrone oor die ontwerp van so 'n proses gebied. 'n Sintese van hierdie komponente en modelle het kulmineer in 'n konsepsuele model vir kommersialisering binne die Universiteit van Stellenbosch omgewing. Hierdie model sluit die praktiese deel van kommersialisering, sowel as die ontasbare deel, naamlik organisatoriese denkwyses, houdings en kultuur in.

碩士
輔仁大學
會計學系碩士班
100
The purpose of this study is to investigate the information content of the announcements of divestiture activities. The divestiture activities of this study include two types: equity carve-outs and spin-offs. My research samples regarding divestiture activities with public information disclosure conditions were gathered between 2001 and 2011. First, I applied event study to estimate the accumulated abnormal returns for divestiture announcements in each event window. A difference-of-means test was applied to examine the information contents for enterprises conducting Divestiture activities. Owing to the characteristics of the media, there was false news of divestiture activities in the capital market. For this reason, I told true divestiture activities news from the false from my research samples, and a difference-of-means test was applied to discuss the differences of information contents for enterprises with true or false divestiture activities news. Furthermore, I investigate whether the investors were able to tell the true news from the false. Finally, the true news in my research sample was classified separately according to different characters of enterprises, including different divestiture activities, different industries and purposes. Empirical results indicated that capital market announcement disposition for divestiture activities had positive evaluations, and it’s possible to leak information of divestiture activities in the stock market. Next, after I divided all samples into two groups, I found that investors didn’t distinguish true divestiture activities news from false. Finally, when I considered the characteristics of enterprises, empirical results indicated that enterprises conducting spin-offs were given the higher positive evaluation by markets. When Electronic Enterprises engaged in divestiture activities, they were given the higher positive evaluation by markets. However, when the purpose of enterprises who engaged in divestiture activities was specialization, they weren’t given the higher positive evaluation by markets.

碩士
國立中央大學
財務金融學系碩士在職專班
100
This study investigates the stock price impact on the spin-off declaration and the long-term stock and operating performance of firms following the spin-off. The empirical results can be summarized in the following points：(1) The announcement abnormal return of the parent firms is insignificantly negative. (2) For the long-run post-performance, the parent corporations outperform their benchmark and the subsidiary firms underperform their peers. (3) The operating performance of the parent corporations improves materially after the break up of the operational divisions. Overall, the empirical results confirm that the operation performance of the parent corporations is improved by the corporate focus, while the performance of spun-off firms is not improved. For the motivation, the parent corporations have improved their operating performance, for both of with-in industry and cross-industry spin-offs. On the other hand, the performance of the subsidiary firms is not dramatically improved.

碩士
銘傳大學
國際企業學系碩士班
96
This study explores the impact on the performance of Taiwan’s listed companies that engage in divestiture activities. The divestiture activities of this study include two types: equity carve-outs and spin-offs. Equity carve-outs mean the company lets off the shareholding of subsidiary. Spin-offs mean one division of the company to become another company. This study directs to 136 equity carve-outs and 46 spin -offs announcements between 1994 and 2007 to be the study objects, and it measures short-term performance by stock returns and long-term operating performance by financial ratios. Use event study method and statistics test to evaluate how to effect the performance. This study compares the performance of divesting firm by comparable group design. This study finds there are significant positive stock returns on divestiture announcements in Taiwan’s listed companies. Furthermore, firms that undertake divestiture activities generally can enhance their performance and mitigate negative synergy, due to equity carve-outs have lower debt ratio and spin-offs concentrate core business. The study discovers equity carve-outs can increase value rapidly than spin-offs. After divestiture activities their performances have improved on rate of asset, market to book and excess value. In addition, equity carve-outs and spin-offs compare to the rival companies have better investment efficiency and asset allocation ability will cause the operating performance and the company’s value obtaining the further promotion.

In the absence of taxes and transactions costs, there can be no benefit to corporate reorganization from a financial standpoint, but ‘real world’ limitations and frictions do provide additional value that is gained through divestitures in terms of focus and financial flexibility. Herein, the corporate divestiture decision is analyzed to determine the motivation for a parent company either to cleave its offspring directly to the external capital market in an equity carve-out or to distribute the shares to the existing shareholders in a tax-free spin-off. Cash flow performance, asymmetric information, relative size of the divestiture, and relatedness of the parent’s and subsidiary’s operations are all found to contribute significantly to the divestiture decision. In Canada, an alternate form of security, known as the income trust unit, has become popular for corporate reorganizations, either through an initial public offering or as a conversion of shares. The flow-through structure of income trusts currently allows avoidance of corporate taxation to offer higher pre-tax returns to retail investors, in a market setting where yield is increasingly equated with value. To determine placement of these securities in the market, the risk of the income trust organizational form is analyzed and compared to the standard corporate form. Further, a number of publicly known characteristics of the income trusts can predict the relative risk of this type of investment. In recent ‘hot markets’ for these securities, proof is uncovered that unsuitable firms have been migrating to this sector, but valuation of the investments in this sector has remained fair and full. Although pending legislation will discontinue the tax-exempt status of income trusts in 2011, during their tenure these securities have improved the Canadian market. Based on the data analysis herein, all types of divestitures studied have been predicted to provide commensurate value with respect to risk depending on the nature of the subsidiary.
Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2007-08-15 11:20:20.465