The creation of start-up firms is an important method of commercializing new technologies arising from R&D at universities and other research institutions. Most research into start-ups presumes that these firms develop products or services. However, start-ups may operate through markets for technology by selling or licensing rights to use their technology to other firms -typically established firms -who develop and sell new products or services based on the technology. In this study of 57 public start-up firms created to commercialize the results of university research, we find evidence that (1) operating through markets for technology is a common approach to commercialization, (2) start-ups that operate in markets for technology can be effectively distinguished in practice from start-ups operating through product markets, and (3) there are substantive differences in the business activities of firms depending on whether they operate through product markets or markets for technology.
The concept of an ‘entrepreneurial orientation’ is well established in the literature on the strategic posture of firms. Increasingly, large public and non-profit organizations are also turning to entrepreneurship in their efforts to become flexible and respond to pressures to ‘do more with less’. Government rhetoric encourages universities in particular to become more entrepreneurial, increasing the commercialization of research and contributing to economic growth. To understand what it means for university departments to be ‘entrepreneurial’, interviews with 40 faculty members explore the issue. Transcripts of the interviews were analysed using content-analysis software. The results suggest that risk taking is the most important dimension in developing an entrepreneurial university, and may be a prerequisite for commercialization.
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