Determinants of high-growth university spin-offs in Spain

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to determine that the factors that lead to university spin-offs (USOs) high-growth firms (HGFs). In recent years, HGFs have been a topic of growing interest in the field of economic research because of these companies’ capacity for job creation and the dynamism they bring to the growth of the economy. In parallel, companies that are born of knowledge or technology developed at universities, known as university spin-offs, have also received attention from the literature in entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach In this study, to analyse the extent to which USOs have become HGFs, a sample of 237 Spanish companies with university origins for a period of study from 2007 to 2014 were used. To contrast the present study’s hypotheses, eight different models were estimated using probit models. Findings The results show that factors such as number of employees, internationalization, profitability and indebtedness positively affect the probability that a USO will become an HGF. However, for age, industry, innovation, the presence of venture capital and productivity, no statistically significant relationship could be found. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature in HGFs and university entrepreneurship in different ways. First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous studies have analysed the determinants of becoming an HGF from a USO. Second, hypotheses that, until now, had not been analysed in previous studies, in particular the fact of being a knowledge-intensive company, are tested. Third, the results obtained allow the establishment of recommendations to improve policies to support HGF-USO.

Analyzing the Effects of Institutional- and Ecosystem-Level Variables on University Spin-Off Performance

“…Likewise, the existence of an international clientele, that is, the international orientation of a USO, is a key factor for employment growth, in line with the results of Pazos et al (2016) andFernández-López et al (2018). These authors conclude that the existence of international clients-or, which is the same, the fact of exporting-is a key element, since the success of these exporting USOs is far superior to that of USOs that do not export.…”

“…This result is not surprising at all, given that dependence on the national market limits growth, whereas internationalization leads to new possibilities. In such a globalized world where competitiveness is so high and the market is so specialized, this seems to be the best growth option for most USOs (Fernández-López et al, 2018;Pazos et al, 2016). In addition, the fact that the USOs offer such specialized services related to technology makes internationalization a necessity, since the national market for such innovation can and usually does fall short.…”

“…Finally, several previous works relate the size of the USO (measured by the number of employees) with its growth (Phillips & Kirchhoff, 1989;Popkin & Kirchhoff, 1991;Wagner, 1992;Fernández-López et al, 2018). This fact leads us to think that the number of workers can be a determining variable of growth, hence the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 6a : The number of employees positively influences growth in sales.…”

“…According to some authors, the existence of an international scope in the USO has a favorable effect on growth (Fernández-López et al, 2018;Pazos et al, 2016). This may be due to the fact that the market for a USO, a company highly specialized in research issues, may be very small at the national level, thus limiting growth.…”

“…Therefore, expanding the market beyond the country's borders may become the only way to grow. According to Fernández-López et al (2018), a USO has a 7.8% greater chance of enjoying high growth if it is internationalized than if it is a nonexporting concern. These same authors observe that internationalizing an academic company not only fosters growth but also accelerates it, concurring with other authors in their conclusions (Moreno & Coad, 2015).…”