Rosa Grimaldi

Business incubators and new venture creation: an assessment of incubating models

Abstract Incubators assist emerging ventures by providing support services and assistance in developing their business. We map business incubators into four categories: Business Innovation Centres (BICs), University Business Incubators (UBIs), Independent Private Incubators (IPIs), and Corporate Private Incubators (CPIs). We then argue that the variety of incubating organizations is driven by the evolution of companies’ requirements and needs, which encourage incubators to differentiate the range of services that they offer. We believe that differences in the way incubators run their businesses can be described by two main incubating models ( Model 1 and Model 2 ), providing incubators with useful indications on how to position themselves strategically. We identify a list of incubator ‘characterizing’ variables to highlight the main differences between the four types of incubators and to describe the incubating models. Empirical evidence is provided on the two incubating models derived from case studies of eight Italian incubators.

To Patent or Not to Patent? A Survey of Italian Inventors on Motivations, Incentives and Obstacles to University Patenting

This paper reports results from a survey of 208 Italian faculty members, inventors of university-owned patents, on their motivation to get involved in university patenting activities, the obstacles that they faced, and their suggestions to foster the commercialization of academic knowledge through patents. Findings show that respondents get involved in patenting activities to enhance their prestige and reputation, and look for new stimuli for their research; personal earnings do not represent a main incentive. University-level patent regulations reduce the obstacles perceived by inventors, as far as they signal universities’ commitment to legitimate patenting activities. Implications for innovation policies are discussed.

The Determinants of Corporate Entrepreneurial Intention within Small and Newly Established Firms

In this article, we study the determinants of corporate entrepreneurial intention (CEI) within small and newly established firms. Given that in these ventures, entrepreneurial activities usually occur as a result of individuals’ behaviors, the CEI of their founders is key to explaining these companies’ ability to become engaged in entrepreneurial actions. Building on the theory of planned behavior, we conceptualize how individual characteristics and contextual variables influence CEI. Our theoretical model of the micro–foundation of CEI is tested on a sample of 200 entrepreneurs, founders of 133 new technology–based firms. Results show that CEI is influenced by situationally specific motivation, individual skills, and perceived environmental dynamism. Managerial implications are discussed.

Codified-Tacit and General-Specific Knowledge in the division of labour among firms. A study of the Software Industry

This paper addresses the organisation and codification of knowledge in the software industry. It analyses various economic incentives to codification, including the need to improve the productivity and quality of software production processes and to access inter-firm collaborations. The paper examines the experience of four Italian software firms specialised in software packages and services. It compares their capabilities, the main sources of tacit knowledge, their specific incentives to invest in knowledge codification, their usage of formal software development methodologies and quality control systems. Finally, the paper analyses two distinct technological collaborations that two of these firms have recently established.

University-level mechanisms supporting the creation of new companies: an analysis of Italian academic spin-offs

In this paper we address the role of university policies in the creation of academic spin-offs. We focus on university technology transfer units (UTTUs) in Italy and on the mechanisms they have implemented to support academic entrepreneurship. We gathered data relating to their strategies for technology transfer and to the mechanisms they had implemented to support new venture creation. Results show that the number of people dedicated to technology transfer activities, strong relationships that UTTUs have with external organisations involved in technology transfer activities, and finally support services provided by universities and UTTUs have a significant influence in fostering the generation of new ventures.

University spin-offs and their impact: longitudinal evidence from Italy

The creation of university spin-off companies (USOs) is one of the most visible form of commercialization of university research. To date, there is scant and mixed evidence about USOs and their performance, thus producing a debate about their impact on the economy and society and about the legitimization of policies to support their development. In this paper, we address this gap by providing evidence about the growth strategies and performances of USOs in the Italian context. We analyze the population of nine hundred thirty-five USOs spin-off from Italian public universities since 2000, highlighting potential avenues for future research on this important topic.

Leveraging Offshoring: The Identification of New Business Opportunities in International Settings

This work aims to shed light on the process through which small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) identify new business opportunities within their ongoing offshoring activities. Empirical evidence is drawn on the case of think3, an Italian medium-sized software company that has been offshoring its R&D activities to Bangalore, India, since the year 2000. In 2004, the company started a brand new “global” business: from selling software solutions for computer-aided design, it began selling the engineering capabilities to use its solutions, leveraging highly qualified Indian mechanical engineers. Our analysis underlines three elements underpinning think3s ability in envisaging a new profitable business opportunity. These are its experiential knowledge of: (a) the markets, clients and competitors, (b) the offshore context, and (c) the internationalization process as a software house, embodied in the ability to promote offshore cultural integration and to align home and offshore operations. This study enables a better understanding of the factors triggering the recognition of new business opportunities by SMEs, at the international level.

The Transition Towards Entrepreneurial Universities: An Assessment of Academic Entrepreneurship in Italy

In this paper we illustrate the changes that the Italian university system underwent from the early 2000s till today, with a special focus on the transition to academic entrepreneurship. We describe these changes as part of more general and similar trends taking place in other European countries in the same period. The Italian case shows the on-going effort that national Government and academic institutions have been devoting to create better conditions to enable the successful commercialization of academic research results. Specifically, we look at the differences in the amount of academic entrepreneurship generated by the 64 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematical universities during the last decade, assessing the impact of normative and structural support mechanisms on the universities’ ability to engage with the market logic. Policy implications are discussed.

Offshoring of Intangibles: Organizational and Strategic Issues

*Department of Management, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, **Department of Engineering Science and Methods, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy, Department of Business, Statistical, Technological and Environmental Sciences (DASTA), University G. d’Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Italy, Science and Technology Policy Research (SPRU), University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, {School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

MOTIVATIONS AND INCENTIVES FOR PATENTING WITHIN UNIVERSITIES: A SURVEY OF ITALIAN INVENTORS.

Most of the literature on university patenting activity has focused on institutional and organizational change and on mechanisms to overcome market inefficiencies and spur academics to patent their research results. There is little evidence on the incentives for faculty members to get involved in patenting processes, of the obstacles, and of their perceptions of actions to be taken to successfully support the commercialization of academic knowledge through patents. In this paper we present such an assessment based on Italian faculty members. Our analysis is based on a sample of 208 faculty members who appeared to be inventors of Italian academic patents. Our findings show that Italian professors get involved in patenting activities to enhance their prestige and reputation and to look for new stimuli for their research; personal earnings do not represent an important incentive. Respondents appreciate university-level support mechanisms and the availability of an outside fertile local context (firms, scientific parks, incubators, venture capitalists, etc.). Implications are discussed with regard to the diffusion patenting policies within universities and the implementation of effective mechanisms supporting academic patenting processes.