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J Int Entrep (2012) 10:350377
DOI 10.1007/s10843-012-0094-5
Ekaterina S. Bjrnli & Arild Aspelund
Published online: 11 September 2012# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012
Abstract This study addresses the roles of the entrepreneurial team and the board of directors in the internationalization of academic spin-off companies. The study is based on a quantitative analysis of 109 spin-offs from Norwegian academic institutions. The findings suggest that academic spin-offs are more likely to achieve both international strategic alliances and international sales with entrepreneurial teams having industrial experience that is both highly homogeneous (where each member has work experience in the same industry) and highly diverse (where each member has work experience in different industries) and board members that have diverse functional backgrounds. Firms that are less dependent on networking by board members to increase legitimacy and build relationships with potential foreign customers are more likely to achieve international sales.
Keywords Internationalization . Academic spin-off . Team . Board . Born global . International new venture
Introduction
This study addresses the roles of both entrepreneurial teams and boards of directors in the internationalization of technology-based new ventures originating from universities and research institutes. This is an area of research that has been neglected in the study of international and academic entrepreneurship and governance (Cumming et
E. S. Bjrnli (*)
NIFU Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education, P.O. Box 5183, Oslo 0302, Norwaye-mail: [email protected]
A. Aspelund
Department for Industrial Economics and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Alfred Getzv. 1., Trondheim 7491, Norwaye-mail: [email protected]
The role of the entrepreneurial team and the boardof directors in the internationalization of academic spin-offs
The role of the entrepreneurial team and the board of directors 351
al. 2009; Rothaermel et al. 2007; Huse 2007a) but can give valuable insight to both practitioners as well as theory. We examine whether diversity in the entrepreneurial team and board members and whether reliance on the board to perform certain tasks contribute to the internationalization of the academic spin-off companies. We find that all of these factors influence the internationalization of academic spin-off companies, as measured by success in securing international strategic alliances and achieving international sales.
Early and rapid internationalization by technology-based new ventures has received considerable research attention over the...