Abstract
Within their activities in research and teaching, universities generate significant resources for creation and invention processes. Unfortunately, inventions often cannot be transformed into innovations, and therefore lack the market commercialisation. Reasons for that might be missing resources of universities for further prototyping and testing ideas. At this point, also known as ‘Valley of Death’, the main university task (namely conducting research) ceases, and as a result entrepreneurial potential remains unexploited. This chapter elaborates on two possible options how to overcome the ‘Valley of Death’. In a first step, several aspects of potential resources and their meaning for an innovation process are derived from literature. German entrepreneurship initiatives, which are explored empirically through their business models in order to gain an insight of how invention processes are supported, could be one option. A second option may be private start-programs like venture capital and corporate incubation that approach the innovation process from a commercialised perspective. The findings indicate that university initiatives have to shift their finances in order to sustain their start-up activities. In this context, the role of public private partnerships seems to be a viable option to be discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Detailed information about the sample can be enquired with the authors. At this point, a lot of thanks to Jonas Hunka and Jonathan Klinkhammer for their support with the data collection.
References
Abatecola, G., & Uli, V. (2016). Entrepreneurial competences, liability of newness and infant survival: Evidence from the service industry. Journal of Management Development, 35(9), 1082–1097.
Allen, D. N., & McCluskey, R. (1990). Structure, policy, services, and performance in the business incubator industry. [Article]. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 15(2), 61–77.
Auerswald, P., & Branscomb, L. (2003). Valleys of death and Darwinian seas: Financing the invention to innovation transition in the United States. [Article]. Journal of Technology Transfer, 28(3/4), 227–239. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024980525678.
Beard, T. R., Ford, G. S., Koutsky, T. M., & Spiwak, L. J. (2009). A Valley of death in the innovation sequence: An economic investigation. Research Evaluation, 18(5), 343–356. https://doi.org/10.3152/095820209x481057.
Becker, B., & Gassmann, O. (2006). Gaining leverage effects from knowledge modes within corporate incubators. R&D Management, 36(1), 1–16.
Bettencourt, L. A., & Ulwick, A. W. (2008). The customer-centered innovation map. Harvard Business Review, 86(5), 109.
Bilbao-Osorio, B., & Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2004). From R&D to innovation and economic growth in the EU. Growth and Change, 35(4), 434–455.
Blank, S., & Dorf, B. (2012). The startup owner’s manual: The step-by-step guide for building a great company. California: K & S Ranch.
Block, J. H., Brockmann, H., Klandt, H., & Kohn, K. (2009). Gründungshemmnisse in Marktmechanismen und -umfeld – Facetten empirischer Evidenz. In Berichte aus dem Fachbereich I, Wirtschafts- und Gesellschaftswissenschaften. Berlin: Beuth Hochschule für Technik Berlin.
Brettel, M., Mauer, R., Engelen, A., & Küpper, D. (2012). Corporate effectuation: Entrepreneurial action and its impact on R&D project performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 27(2), 167–184.
Carree, M. A., & Thurik, A. R. (2005). The impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth. In Z. J. Acs & D. B. Audretsch (Eds.), Handbook of entrepreneurship research (pp. 437–471). New York: Springer.
Chandler, G. N., DeTienne, D. R., McKelvie, A., & Mumford, T. V. (2011). Causation and effectuation processes: A validation study. Journal of Business Venturing, 26(3), 375–390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.10.006.
Christensen, C. M., von den Eichen, S., & Matzler, K. (2011). The innovators dilemma: Warum etablierte Unternehmen den Wettbewerb um bahnbrechende Innovationen verlieren. München: Vahlen.
Covin, J. O., & Miles, M. P. (1999). Corporate entrepreneurship and the pursuit of competitive advantage. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 23(3), 47–63.
Dew, N., Read, S., Sarasvathy, S. D., & Wiltbank, R. (2009). Effectual versus predictive logics in entrepreneurial decision-making: Differences between experts and novices. Journal of Business Venturing, 24(4), 287–309.
Dimitratos, P., Amorós, J. E., Etchebarne, M. S., & Felzensztein, C. (2014). Micro-multinational or not? International entrepreneurship, networking and learning effects. Journal of Business Research, 67(5), 908–915.
Gassmann, O., Frankenberger, K., & Csik, M. (2013). Geschäftsmodelle entwickeln – 55 innovative Konzepte mit dem St. Galler Business Model Navigator. München: Carl Hanser.
Gelderen, M. v., Patel, P., & Thurik, R. (2010). Encountered problems and outcome status in nascent entrepreneurship. Rotterdam.
Govindarajan, V. (2016). The three-box solution: A strategy for leading innovation. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
von Graevenitz, G., Harhoff, D., & Weber, R. (2010). The effects of entrepreneurship education. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 76(1), 90–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2010.02.015.
Grandi, A., & Grimaldi, R. (2005). Academics’ organizational characteristics and the generation of successful business ideas. Journal of Business Venturing, 20(6), 821–845.
Grimaldi, R., & Grandi, A. (2005). Business incubators and new venture creation: An assessment of incubating models. Technovation, 25(2), 111–121.
Hockerts, K., & Wüstenhagen, R. (2010). Greening Goliaths versus emerging Davids – Theorizing about the role of incumbents and new entrants in sustainable entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(5), 481–492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.07.005.
Jesch, T. A. (2004). Private-Equity-Beteiligungen: Wirtschaftliche, rechtliche und steuerliche Rahmenbedingungen aus Investorensicht. Springer.
Johnson, M. W. (2010). Seizing the white space. Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press.
Jou, Y. T., Chen, C. H., Hwang, C. H., Lin, W. T., & Huang, S. J. (2010). A study on the improvements of new product development procedure performance – An application of design for Six Sigma in a semi-conductor equipment manufacturer. International Journal of Production Research, 48(19), 5573–5591.
Kaplan, S. (2012). The business model innovation factory: How to stay relevant when the world is changing. Hoboken: Wiley.
Kawohl, J. M., Rack, O., & Strniste, L. (2015). Status Quo Corporate Inkubatoren und Acceleratoren in Deutschland. Berlin: Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin.
Kobe, C. (2007). Technologiebeobachtung. In C. Herstatt & B. Verworn (Eds.), Management der frühen Innovationsphasen (pp. 23–37). New York: Springer.
Kritikos, A. S. (2014). Entrepreneurs and their impact on jobs and economic growth. IZA World of Labor, 8, 1–10.
Kulicke, M., Dornbusch, F., & Schleinkofer, M. (2011). Maßnahmen und Erfahrungen der EXIST III geförderten Gründungsinitiativen in den Bereichen Ideengenerierung, Beratung, Qualifizierung, Sensibilisierung, Inkubation und Alumni-Einbindung: Bericht der wissenschaftlichen Begleitforschung zu “EXIST-Existenzgründungen aus der Wissenschaft”. Fraunhofer-Verlag.
Levie, J., & Lichtenstein, B. B. (2010). A terminal assessment of stages theory: Introducing a dynamic states approach to entrepreneurship. [Article]. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 34(2), 317–350. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00377.x.
Lichtenstein, B. B. (2011). Complexity science contributions to the field of entrepreneurship. In P. Allen, S. Maguire, & B. McKelvey (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of complexity and management (pp. 471–493). London: Sage.
Lichtenstein, B. B., Carter, N. M., Dooley, K. J., & Gartner, W. B. (2007). Complexity dynamics of nascent entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(2), 236–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.06.001.
Maurya, A. (2012). Running Lean – Iterate from plan A to plan that works (Vol. 2). Cambridge: O’Reilly Media.
Mian, S., Lamine, W., & Fayolle, A. (2016). Technology business incubation: An overview of the state of knowledge. Technovation, 50, 1–12.
Miller, K. D. (2007). Risk and rationality in entrepreneurial processes. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 1(1–2), 57–74. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.2.
O’Reilly, C. A., III, & Tushman, M. L. (2004). The Ambidextrous organization. [Article]. Harvard Business Review, 82(4), 74–81.
Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation. A handbook for visionaires, game changers, and challengers. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2011). Business model generation. Campus: Frankfurt a.M..
PID Arbeiten für Wissenschaft und Öffentlichkeit. (2015). Das ist EXIST 2015. In B. f. r. W. u. E. (BMWi) (Ed.), Paderborn: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi).
Raisch, S., Birkinshaw, J., Probst, G., & Tushman, M. L. (2009). Organizational ambidexterity: Balancing exploitation and exploration for sustained performance. Organization Science, 20(4), 685–695. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1090.0428.
Robb, A. M., & Robinson, D. T. (2014). The capital structure decisions of new firms. Review of Financial Studies, 27(1), 153–179. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhs072.
Sarasvathy, S. D. (2001). Causation and effectuation: Toward a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency. [Article]. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 243–263. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2001.4378020.
Sarasvathy, S. D. (2008). Effectuation – Elements of entrepreneurial expertise. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Schmude, J., Welter, F., & Heumann, S. (2008). Entrepreneurship research in Germany. [Article]. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 32(2), 289–311. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2007.00227.x.
Schwienbacher, A. (2015). Financing the business. In T. Baker & F. Welter (Eds.), The Routledge companion to entrepreneurship (pp. 193–206). London, New York: Routledge.
Valliere, D., & Peterson, R. (2009). Entrepreneurship and economic growth: Evidence from emerging and developed countries. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 21(5–6), 459–480.
Velling, J. (2010). EXIST-Gründungskultur – Die Gründerhochschule. Existenzgründungen aus der Wissenschaft. Berlin Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie.
Wales, W., Monsen, E., & McKelvie, A. (2011). The organizational pervasiveness of entrepreneurial orientation. [Article]. Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice, 35(5), 895–923. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00451.x.
Weiblen, T., & Chesbrough, H. W. (2015). Engaging with startups to enhance corporate innovation. California Management Review, 57(2), 66–90.
Wong, P. K., Ho, Y. P., & Autio, E. (2005). Entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth: Evidence from GEM data. Small Business Economics, 24(3), 335–350.
Zott, C., Amit, R., & Massa, L. (2011). The business model: Recent developments and future research. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1019–1042. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311406265.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Liening, A., Geiger, JM., Kriedel, R. (2018). Bridging the Gap Between Invention and Innovation: The Role of University-Based Start-Up Programs and Private Cooperation. In: Presse, A., Terzidis, O. (eds) Technology Entrepreneurship. FGF Studies in Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73509-2_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73509-2_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73508-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-73509-2
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)