Academic spinoffs as a value driver for intellectual capital: the case of the University of Pisa

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-03-2017-0050
Date08 January 2018
Published date08 January 2018
Pages202-226
AuthorGiovanna Mariani,Ada Carlesi,Alfredo Antonino Scarfò
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Knowledge management,HR & organizational behaviour,Organizational structure/dynamics,Accounting & Finance,Accounting/accountancy,Behavioural accounting
Academic spinoffs as a value
driver for intellectual capital:
the case of the University of Pisa
Giovanna Mariani, Ada Carlesi and Alfredo Antonino Scarfò
University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss academic spinoffs (ASO) as an expression of the value
creation of university technology transfer (TT) investments. More recently, scholars have emphasised
intellectual capitals (IC) importance, also for universities in obtaining competitive advantages and by
creating value. Such spinoffs are key to regional development, as a primary aspect of universitiesIC.
Design/methodology/approach The authors tested the aim through a sample of the University of Pisas
spinoffs. The authors measured the value the universitys third mission investment generates on the area by
means of entrepreneurship through two different approaches. First, the authors defined a multiplier of the TT
investment (university TT multiplier) and then explored the IC componentscontributions to the ASOs
enterprise value (EV).
Findings The results show that the University of Pisas TT investments positively impact the local
community through the spinoff system, both in economic terms and in IC. In the long term, these investments
can enrich scientific humus and entrepreneurial mindsets.
Research limitations/implications This is an exploratory study of the University of Pisas impacts on
the local economy. The results are limited to the context of Pisa and to the TT policy. Anotherlimitation is the
subjectivity of the EV estimation.
Practical implications The results can have some practical implications. The large portfolio of university
stakeholders (policymakers, families, students, companies, financiers, etc.) ask for information, especially on
long-term results: in a simple way, the multiplier is able to communicate important feedbacks to support their
decision-making process.
Social implications With the multiplier, the authors give a tool to measure the social enrichment.
Originality/value In the study, the authors propose a new tool to measure the impact of the investment in
TT on the local community.
Keywords Universities, Academic entrepreneurship, Intellectual capital, Value creation,
University third mission, Spinoffs
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
According to scholars and policymakers, the university has a key role in the local economy
and in society. Policymakers are increasingly looking to both innovation and technology
transfer (TT) to fuel economic growth. Although they note that universities have two
traditional functions, teaching and research, policymakers assert that these institutions
have also assumed a third mission, steering towards entrepreneurship, by favouring the
commercialisation of science (Slaughter and Leslie, 1997; Nowotny et al., 2003).
Via knowledge development and transfer, universities are promoting an entrepreneurial
mindset, stimulating new businesses, and creating new jobs. With these strategic aims,
since the early 1980s, US universities have increased their entrepreneurial activities along
many dimensions, such as patenting and licensing, building science parks, promoting
academic spinoffs (ASOs), and by investing equity in startups (Mowery et al., 2004;
Siegel, 2006). Over the past 30 years, even European academics that support the third
mission and, particularly, TT activities and social engagement, as well as the creation of
enterprise value (EV), are developing. In some early studies, some scholars have
discussed the factors that could influence TT and its success (Cummings and Teng, 2003;
Siegel et al., 2003). After a few years, the focus shifted to TT activities, which planted the
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 19 No. 1, 2018
pp. 202-226
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/JIC-03-2017-0050
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
202
JIC
19,1
seeds of an entrepreneurial mindset among university researchers (OShea et al., 2005;
Wright, 2007)that began by promoting ASOs foreconomic and social enrichment(Chiesa and
Piccaluga, 2000; Fontes, 2005; OShea et al., 2005). A real impetus to the lively debate in the
literatureon the third mission of the universitywas the EU green paper European indicators
and ranking methodology for university third mission(2012), which defines universities
third mission and emphasises the importance of measuring and monitoring performance
(Thursby and Kemp, 2002; Siegel et al., 2003; Chapple et al., 2005; Secundo et al., 2017).
Although there is no general definition of the third mission, its elements are continuing
education, innovation promotion, TT, academic entrepreneurship, and social engagement
towards local communities. ASOs are a key driver of TT activities. Despite the thriving
body of literature on academic entrepreneurship, few studies have investigated the
performance of ASOs via fine-grained longitudinal panel data (Rothaermel et al., 2007).
The university must lose its research ivory tower by developing an entrepreneurial
university model (Etzkowitz et al., 2000, 2003) with a socio-economic development function.
Thus, when we talk about TT from the university, the two research areas of
entrepreneurship and intellectual capital (IC) are strongly interconnected; this goes beyond the
universitys traditional role as a knowledge factory (Youtie and Shapira, 2008; Aronowitz, 2000).
However, scholars are debating the universitys roles in local communities by
measuring both their innovation promotion (Etzkowitz, 2003; Shane, 2004; Huggins and
Johnston, 2009; Trequattrini et al., 2015) and their wealth creation (Trune and Goslin, 1998;
Siegfried et al., 2007; Guerrero et al., 2015; Carlesi et al., 2017). There has only recently been
a tendency to assess a universitys performance in pursuing its third mission in terms of
the creation of IC (Secundo et al., 2017; Mariani, 2017).
As noted by Dumay and Guthrie, in the public sector, IC is an intangible asset that is able
to create value and wealth, such as social welfare, progress, and other intangibles. While IC
has been explored mainly in the private sector, there is a gap in studies of IC creation in
universities (Kong and Prior, 2008). Some early studies dealt with IC in universities in terms
of management practices (Hellström and Husted, 2004; Ramírez, 2010; Secundo et al., 2016),
measurement, and reporting (Fazlagic, 2005; Leitner, 2004). Nonetheless, ICs contributions
to the value creation process in universities have remained widely unaddressed (Guthrie and
Dumay, 2015; Secundo et al., 2017).
This debate is so centred on the importance of university entrepreneurship to IC
development, and the effects of both entrepreneurship and IC on local development.
However, according to Borin and Donato (2015), IC research is now in its fourth stage the
analysis has widened to the extra-organisational level.
This exploratory study aims to highlight ASOsmain contributions to the surrounding
area as a value driver of the third stream. We pursued this purpose through a case study at
the University of Pisa; our analysis considers the universitys value creation process and
shows how it can be assessed via IC underpinned by TT activities. To assess university
spinoffsimpacts on local economies,after a literature framework, we analysedtwo elements.
First, we considered ASOscontributions to the local economy in terms of traditional
economic parameters (sales, job creation, and new R&D investments), from 2010, the year
the University of Pisa set up its TTO, which marked the beginning of its development
programme, to 2014, the latest year for which the relevant data are available. Following,
we have defined the university technology transfer multiplier (UTTM) to synthesise the
total effects on the local economy with only a number. Thus, we captured therefore the
universitys innovation investments overall effects in terms of value creation of ASOs as an
expression of IC. Through a statistical analysis, we then explored IC components and their
contributions to the spinoffsEV. The purpose of this last analysis is to show how much of
the IC is recognised in ASOs EV and so, on the multiplier. We close with the conclusions,
in which we also discuss implications and avenues for future research.
203
Academic
spinoffs as a
value driver
for IC

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT