Academic entrepreneurship: the performance and impacts of academic spin-offs in Norway

Academic entrepreneurship is an important mechanism for the transfer of scientific knowledge and technology into application in society. Specifically, the creation of academic spin-off firms have become a growing phenomenon being promoted by universities and policy initiatives across the globe. The factors leading to a higher number of spin-offs being created are well documented, but there are less evidence on the performance and impacts of these firms over time. This chapter takes a unique approach by documenting the development and outcomes of a national population of academic spin-offs over time. By looking at spin-offs from universities and public research institutes in Norway established from 1999 to 2011 we map their profiles related to origin, technology, financing, outcomes and several performance measures. The findings provide a comprehensive understanding of how these firms develop, emphasizing the importance of different outcomes such as acquisitions, the skewed nature of such firm portfolios, and the strong effect of time for realizing outcomes and impacts.