John Yencken

Public research commercialisation, entrepreneurship and new technology based firms: an integrated model

Entrepreneurship is the engine of innovation. The accumulated tacit knowledge and culture of the entrepreneur are the resources essential to create wealth from research commercialisation leading to technological innovation and the creation of New Technology Based Firms (NTBFs). The authors explore, in definitional terms, discovery of entrepreneurial opportunity and entrepreneurial capacity as the essential elements in the interaction between all types of tacit knowledge (technological, managerial, risk management, financial, etc.). These both derive from and affect interactions between the institutions (sets of rules), organisational culture and external business environment. They also interact with the entrepreneur’s own background and personality. This leads then to a wider analysis of the importance of such tacit knowledge as the glue bringing together effective mechanisms for wealth creation out of research commercialisation.

A longitudinal comparative study of university research commercialisation performance: Australia, UK and USA

Summary Research commercialisation surveys are now available for Australia for Financial Years (FY) 2000 and 2002. This paper reviews longitudinal comparative data for research commercialisation performance in Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA. It discusses commercialisation performance measures, with a specific focus on entrepreneurial spin-off companies, and performance comparisons are made based on research expenditure in US dollars adjusted for purchasing power parity. Conclusions from these analyses suggest that, in recent years, Australian public agency performance in generating spin-offs per unit of research expenditure, adjusted for purchasing power parity, has been comparable or superior to some universities in other countries reviewed. However, Australian university revenue from intellectual property licensing royalties and research contracts has been below that of other countries studied. Analysis suggests that this results from problems in both demand – low business investment in R&D and hence low technology absorptive capacity – and supply, that is lack of time and lack of incentive to academic researchers to develop contacts with and meet the expectations of industry and other research users for technology that works.

Public research agencies as sources for innovations and the entrepreneurial absorptive capacity of manufacturing enterprises

Summary Literature on technology absorptive capacity for new knowledge has shown business R&D investment, however measured, to be a key factor. Statistical analyses of Australian innovation survey data showed a strong relationship between technology absorptive capacity and the perceived importance of public sector research providers as sources of information and ideas for innovations. The policy implications of these findings are how to better balance government interventions between increased funding for the generation of new knowledge and improving the absorptive capacity for this new knowledge and the associated enterprise entrepreneurial propensity.

An entrepreneurship policy framework for high-growth firms: Navigating between policies for picking winners and market failure

This paper outlines an analysis of high-growth technology ventures framed within a time when innovation and entrepreneurship were clearly central pillars of economic policy in Australia. The paper first outlines the case that entrepreneurship policy is highly reliant upon supporting high entrepreneurial potential firms. It next outlines the innovation and entrepreneurship policy environment of the Australian Government between 2001 and 2006 and discusses its shortcomings. Using a series of mini cases of technology-based high-growth firms coincidental with this policy environment, the policy areas that require attention in order to support high-growth technology ventures are highlighted. The paper concludes by providing a policy framework conceived through the lens of high-growth business ventures. When viewed in this way it is apparent that neither policy designed to pick winners or policy that addresses market failure fully support or facilitate high-growth ventures.

The Klofsten Business Platform as a self-diagnostic tool for new technology-based small firms

Summary This paper first reviews available instruments that might be used by new technology-based small firms (NTSFs) as self-diagnostic tools to assess their positioning and plan their future development strategies. It makes a clear distinction between tools that are for self-diagnostic internal use by such ventures and the more established tools, such as Timmons ‘fatal flaw analysis’ and Bell-Mason, designed to assist venture capital investors in decisions whether to invest or not in a new company. The paper then analyses the application of the Klofsten Business Platform with its eight Cornerstones as a comparative diagnostic tool in over twenty case studies to the understanding of the early stages of development of new technology-based spin-off ventures from Australian and Scottish universities. The analysis is longitudinal over a period of up to six years for surviving companies. Survival rates for the sample have been compared with overall survival rates of spin-off and other new ventures in Australia.

Technology absorptive capacity, knowledge transfer and commercialisation: traps and success factors

New knowledge as such has no value until it is applied. The objectives of this paper relate to the processes involved in the application of new knowledge for such value-adding applications. The constructs involved include knowledge itself, knowledge transfer, technology diffusion and technology absorptive capacity for existing companies and the critical factors in establishing viable and high growth new spin-off ventures. The key success factors that have been identified are few: careful selection of new business and commercialisation channel, adequacy of resources available initially, and effective planning supported by established commercial competence.

Entrepreneurial capacity and the new technology-based small firm

Abstract The development of a new technology small firm, such as a spin-off from a university or other public research provider, proceeds through a number of phases. The paper first discusses the concept of requisite holism as applied to the entrepreneurship involved in technological innovation through New Technology-based Small Firms. The various players involved in these various phases include the original “inventor”, technology transfer office staff, the technology champion, the new CEO or surrogate entrepreneur and the first investors). Each of these brings to the new venture specific and differing knowledge resources that are the key elements of the Penrosian bundle of resources that result in competitive advantage. In this paper the data from case studies of the early phases of development of Australian university spin-off companies have been used to explore the relevance of such knowledge resources as the entrepreneurial capacity of the new venture. This analysis supports the definition of entrepreneurial capacity as a set of disparate knowledge resources. Key words: Entrepreneurship, holism, innovation, spin-off.

Parent research provider environments and the early stage development of spin-off companies

Recent research into the early stages of development of new spin-off ventures generated by universities and other public sector research providers has shown how the new ventures development has been closely linked to the research commercialisation and technology transfer strategies, resources, and practices of the parent research provider. Survey and qualitative interview transcript data from 22 case studies of such new ventures in Australia and Scotland have been used to explore the relevance of archetypes for research commercialisation support and how they relate to the organisational paradigms of the various parent research provider organisations.

Sources of Ideas and Knowledge for Innovatory Small Companies: Disaggregation of Australian and Eurostat CIS2 Innovation Survey Data

Summary This study explores the use and importance of university and other public sector research by business enterprises reporting product, process and (in some countries) service innovations, from OECD Innovation Surveys, the European Union, Canada and Australia. The paper tests the Eurostat CIS2 innovation survey conclusion that firms saw public sector research as important according to: whether innovations are world-first; firm size; whether the research could be used by the firm. Analyzing company responses from Eurostat, ABS and Yellow Pages innovation surveys, the paper indicates variations in importance of public sector research by manufacturing sector and firm size. The study concludes that to be effective, increased public sector research expenditure should be linked to increased private sector Rol) expenditure, particularly by SMEs.