Content area
Full Text
Introduction
The paradigm of the Triple Helix emphasizes the role of universities in the modern knowledge-based economy (Etzkowitz, 2003). According to this paradigm, universities are moving from their traditional role of research, teaching and knowledge dissemination to an entrepreneurial one (Hayter, 2011; Marzocchi et al., 2019; Passaro et al., 2018; Schillo, 2018; Shane, 2004). The extant literature investigates the contributions of universities to innovation and competitiveness through a wide range of academic entrepreneurship activities, ranging from patenting to the creation of new firms (Culkin, 2016; Kakouris, 2016; Leitch and Harrison, 1999; Phan and Siegel, 2006; Rothaermel et al., 2007; Woolard, 2008).
In more detail, academic spin-offs (ASOs) are new firms established to exploit the results of universities' research. There have been several attempts in the literature to define ASOs. Although a universal definition does not exist, according to different scholars (Bigliardi et al., 2013; Galati et al., 2017; Mathisen and Rasmussen, 2019; Miranda et al., 2018; Pattnaik and Pandey, 2014), a number of common features are identifiable. These refer to the founders, the parent institution, their objective and their main activities. Indeed, an ASO is usually set up within the academic context by professors, researchers or Ph.D. students (Ben-Hafaïedh et al., 2018; Kolb and Wagner, 2018; Hayter et al., 2017), who may or may not be currently affiliated with the parent organization, that is a university or other academic institution (Bock et al., 2018; Franzoni and Lissoni, 2009). An ASO exploits knowledge created within a university or other academic institution, with the final aim of developing products or services, commercializing technology and generating profit. Consequently, the transfer of core technology from an academic institution into a new company represents its main activity.
There have been many extensive studies about ASOs and their importance for the local socio-economic development. The key areas investigated are the university (Bigliardi et al., 2015), the economic systems (Clarysse et al., 2011) or the ASO itself. As far as the latter is concerned, life cycle process (Helm and Mauroner, 2007; Vanaelst et al., 2006; Vohara et al., 2004) and growth in terms of success or performance (Bigliardi et al., 2013; François and Philippart, 2019; Jung and Kim,...