Research-based spin-offs as agents in the entrepreneurial ecosystem

This study investigates research-based spin-off companies (RBSOs) as agents in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Academic and policy research has established that entrepreneurial companies show relatively low growth ambitions and high failure rates, which is a considerable concern to public policy that sees RSBOs as agents of economic development. However, it has also been established that RSBOs fulfill additional functions within entrepreneurial ecosystems, including those leading to knowledge spillover effects. This study uses patterns of growth ambitions among RBSOs to identify types of RSBOs and to define their place in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, linking the types to company characteristics and 7-year survival. The study presents an original data set based on a survey of RBSOs and follow-up investigations establishing the 7-year survival status of the companies. It investigates first the prevalence of growth objectives, secondly their association with strategic choices, and thirdly the relationship of growth objectives and strategic choices with medium-term survival. The findings show that only approximately half of the companies indicate sales growth objectives. However, they also show that most of the companies not indicating immediate growth objectives are aiming to position themselves for future growth or acquisition. Growth ambitions are associated with strategic choices of RBSOs, yet strategic choices are more important in predicting survival, acquisition or exit after 7 years. The diversity of growth ambitions, strategic choices, and long-term trajectories suggests that RBSOs are not a homogenous group of agents, and represent several pathways to the creation of economic growth and knowledge utilization.