University spin-offs, entrepreneurial environment and start-up policy: the cases of Waterloo and Toronto (Ontario) and Columbus (Ohio)

Harald Bathelt and Ben Spigel

International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, 2011, vol. 2, issue 2, 202-219

Abstract: Universities can be central to a region's economic growth and development, especially if they support start-up, spin-off and modernisation processes related to the regional core sectors. While many governments and associations have developed programmes to encourage the establishment of university spin-offs, the policies they craft are hampered by two major problems. The first is a narrow understanding of spin-offs that focuses on firms directly based on university research. This approach misses firms that use university-related knowledge and resources, unsponsored through the university. Second, spin-off promotion policies often ignore the role of a larger regional entrepreneurial culture and supporting institutions. This paper argues that a broader view of spin-offs is required; a view that accounts for a larger array of ventures and that looks beyond the firm or university to the broader set of regional structures and relations. The empirical evidence presented draws from start-up and spin-off experiences at universities in the USA and Canada.

Keywords: university spin-offs; academic entrepreneurship; entrepreneurial environment; regional knowledge; technology transfer; start-up policy; Canada; USA; United States; start-ups; entrepreneurship; regional structures; knowledge-based development. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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