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Impact of Venture Capital on the Growth of University Spin-Offs

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Multiple Helix Ecosystems for Sustainable Competitiveness

Part of the book series: Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management ((ITKM))

Abstract

In recent decades, universities, as part of the triple helix, have assumed a role in contributing to economic development by transferring technology to society through, among other mechanisms, the creation of university spin-off firms (USOs). USOs usually face certain problems, namely a lack of funding and a low level of business management knowledge of their founders. Since USOs face these problems to a greater extent than other kinds of firms, venture capital might help them in gaining access to the lacking resources and exert a positive impact on their performance. This study addresses this issue, since knowing whether venture capital influences USOs’ performance could help policy makers to plan their supportive policies better for these firms. The firms’ performance is measured as sales growth. To answer our research question, we use a longitudinal dataset of 212 Spanish USOs over the period 2001–2010. The results show that venture capital partners have a positive effect on the USOs’ growth. Consequently, we encourage the Government and academic authorities to design several policies for improving USOs’ success.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Management and Marketing, University of Vigo, Campus Universitario As Lagoas, s/n, Ourense, 32004, Ourense, Spain

    María Jesús Rodríguez-Gulías

  2. Department of Finance and Accounting, University of Santiago de Compostela, Avda. do Burgo, s/n, Santiago de Compostela, 15782, A Corunha, Spain

    David Rodeiro-Pazos & Sara Fernández-López

Authors
  1. María Jesús Rodríguez-Gulías
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  2. David Rodeiro-Pazos
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  3. Sara Fernández-López
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to María Jesús Rodríguez-Gulías .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Organizacón de Empresas, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain

    Marta Peris-Ortiz

  2. Management and Economic University of Beira Interior and NECE—Research Unit in Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal

    João J. Ferreira

  3. Ciências Empresariais/Engenharia Industrial Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco & NECE Research Unit in Business Sciences, Castelo Branco, Portugal

    Luís Farinha

  4. Engenharia Industrial Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco & Centro ALGORITMI – Universidade do Minho, Castelo Branco, Portugal

    Nuno O. Fernandes

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Rodríguez-Gulías, M.J., Rodeiro-Pazos, D., Fernández-López, S. (2016). Impact of Venture Capital on the Growth of University Spin-Offs. In: Peris-Ortiz, M., Ferreira, J., Farinha, L., Fernandes, N. (eds) Multiple Helix Ecosystems for Sustainable Competitiveness. Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29677-7_11

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