Collaborazione fra università ed impresa: gli effetti su innovazione e performance

Lo studio ha lo scopo di verificare dalla prospettiva aziendale se il legame con l’università si traduce in una superiore attività innovativa ed indagare l’esistenza di differenze fra imprese university-based ed imprese indipendenti nel livello di redditività, valutazione del mercato e caratteristiche dell’offerta. L’analisi utilizza un campione di 143 IPO di imprese con Top Management Team (TMT) di estrazione universitaria (campione di riferimento) e da altrettante IPO di imprese indipendenti (campione di controllo). Le imprese university-based sono caratterizzate da performance operative e di mercato (CAR) inferiori e da un livello innovativo superiore. I TMT delle imprese university-based risultano essere composti da un numero maggiore di componenti, da una più alta quota di laureati e da un numero superiore di membri non-executive; le imprese indipendenti sono caratterizzate da una maggiore concentrazione e quota azionaria da parte di Board ed Amministratore Delegato

The M&A dynamics of European science-based entrepreneurial firms

This paper investigates the dynamics of a sample of 131 Science-Based Entrepreneurial Firms (SBEFs), selected out of 500 innovative SMEs that went public in Europe in the period 1995- 2003. We found that the market for the control of these firms was active, with most of our sample firms being acquired after the Initial Public Offering (IPO), especially by companies operating within the same industry. SBEFs showed a higher propensity to be acquired than independent firms, even controlling for intellectual capital and other possible determinants. While university affiliation enhanced attractiveness in the eyes of other companies, it negatively affected the propensity to acquire. The higher availability of internal technological resources was an important determinant of the decreased propensity of SBEFs to pursue acquisitions. We argue that university-based firms do contribute to the technology transfer process, as evidenced by the widespread interest of the business world in investing in these firms. The creation of a SBEF is a first step in the process of commercial exploitation of university-research, while the subsequent step of going public is a sign of the success of this entrepreneurial venture. The take-over of SBEFs may be a final outcome of the process of knowledge diffusion.SBEFs, university spin-offs, science-based entrepreneurship, Europe, IPOs, M&As.

When academia comes to market: does university affiliation reduce the uncertainty of IPOs?

Companies obtain significant benefits and resources from university affiliations. Building on recent contributions in the fields of organizational theory and signaling theory, we argue that such relationships redresses investors’ concerns over the legitimacy of firms and acts as an uncertaintyreducing signal. We study the population of university spin-offs that went public in Europe over the last decade, and find that academic affiliation reduces uncertainty and enhances survivability in the long term. Thus, external stakeholders consider this affiliation a valuable and non-substitutable resource. Our results control for a number of characteristics related to firm quality, including measures of intellectual and relational capital as well as corporate governance mechanisms.Academic entrepreneurship; Technology transfer; Resource-Based view; Signaling

The non-linear relationship between managerial ownership and firm performance

We investigate the relationship between operating performance and ownership structure using a sample of Italian IPO-firms in the period 1995-1999. Overall, we find that their performance declines after the IPO. We find evidence of a non-linear relationship between ownership and performance using different measures of operating performance and managerial ownership. This result supports the hypothesis of a combined effect of ownership on firm performance, with a positive effect at low and high levels of managerial ownership (alignment of interest hypothesis) and a negative effect at intermediate levels (entrenchment hypothesis)