The Effectiveness of University Knowledge Spill-Overs: Performance Differences between University Spin-Offs and Corporate Spin-Offs

While much prior research has focused upon how the Technology Transfer Offices and other contextual characteristics shape the level of university spin-offs (USO), there is little research on entrepreneurial potential among individual academics, and to the best of our knowledge, no comparative studies with other types of spin-offs exist to date. In this paper we suggest that knowledge transfer from academic research may flow indirectly to entrepreneurship by individuals with a university education background who become involved in new venture creation by means of corporate spin-offs (CSO) after gaining industrial experience, rather than leaving university employment to found a new venture as an academic spinoff. In fact, the commercial knowledge gained by industry experience is potentially more valuable for entrepreneurial performance compared to the academic knowledge gained by additional research experience at a university. This leads us to posit that not only will the average performance of CSOs be higher than comparable USOs, but the gains from founder’s prior experiences will also be higher among CSOs. We investigate these propositions in a comparative study tracking the complete population of USOs and CSOs among the Swedish knowledge-intensive sectors between 1994 and 2002.Spill-Overs

Comment on "Measurement of quantum states of neutrons in the Earth's gravitational field"

In the paper by V.V. Nesvizhevsky et al., Phys. Rev. D 67, 102002 (2003), it is argued that the lowest quantum state of neutrons in the Earth's gravitational field has been experimentally identified. While this is most likely correct, it is imperative to investigate all alternative explanations of the result in order to close all loopholes, as it is the first experiment ever claimed to have observed gravitational quantum states. Here we show that geometrical effects in the experimental setup can mimic the results attributed to gravity. Modifications of the experimental setup to close these possible loopholes are suggested.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in Phys.Rev.

Implications of Intra-Family and External Ownership Transfer Of Family Firms: Short Term and Long Term Performance

We contrast the performance consequences of intra-family vs. external ownership transfers. Investigating a sample of all private family firms in Sweden that went through ownership transfers during ten years, we find family firms transferred to external owners outperforming those transferred within the family, but that survival is higher among intra-family transfers. We attribute these performance differences to the long-term orientation of family firms passed on to the next generation and to the entrepreneurial willingness of acquirers to bear uncertainty. Based on distinct ownership transition routes and theoretical mechanisms explaining performance differences, we outline implications for family business and entrepreneurship research.long-term orientation; succession; ownership transfer; family firms; performance

Reconceptualizing Entrepreneurial Exit: Divergent Exit Routes and Their Drivers

We develop a conceptual model of entrepreneurial exit which includes exit through liquidation and firm sale for both firms in financial distress and firms performing well. This represents four distinct exit routes. In developing the model, we complement the prevailing theoretical framework of exit as a utility-maximizing problem among entrepreneurs with prospect theory and its recent applications in liquidation of investment decisions. We empirically test the model using two Swedish databases which follow 1,735 new ventures and their founders over eight years. We find that entrepreneurs exit from both firms in financial distress and firms performing well. In addition, commonly examined human capital factors (entrepreneurial experience, age, education) and failure-avoidance strategies (outside job, reinvestment) differ substantially across the four exit routes, explaining some of the discrepancies in earlier studiesEntrepreneurial Exit; Prospect Theory; Human Capital

Soundtrack to Our Town A study of music sharing based on location utilizing mobile technology

Social mjukvara är nu för tiden en del av vardagen och dess statusrader förmedlar användarens förehavanden och tankar till vänkretsen. En intressant företeelse angående statusraden är att användarna utnyttjar referenser till den musik de för närvarande lyssnar på för att uttrycka sig däri. Eftersom Internet alltmer flyttar ut på mobila enheter följer även dessa sociala mjukvaror och dess beteenden med. Musikdelning bör därför följa samma mönster. Denna rapport undersöker om geografisk plats kan användas för att dela musik med mobil teknologi samt om det finns en koppling mellan musik och plats. För att utforska detta har en prototyp i form av en mobilapplikation, med namn TownTracks, konstruerats. TownTracks ger användaren möjligheten att märka sin nuvarande geografiska placering med en låt så att andra användare kan hitta den. När andra användare passerar platsen ges de tillgång till låten och kan spela upp den samt kommentera den. Prototypens utformning stödjer sig på flera relaterade arbeten samt fokusgrupper och en intervju. Efter en veckas testperiod med tio testpersoner utfördes intervjuer med de fyra som använt programmet flitigast. Testarna ser värde i sättet musiken delas i prototypen då det underlättar för dem att hitta ny musik som de annars inte lyssnat på. Platser med intressanta människor på, som t.ex. favoritkaféet, gör att intresset för musik som placerats där är större. Vidare visade det sig redan i förstudiens intervjuer att kopplingen mellan musik och plats inte är stark men att då den finns är den i huvudsak personlig vilket verifieras i utvärderingsintervjuerna

Felodipine-Metoprolol Combination Tablet: Maintained Health-Related Quality of Life in the Presence of Substantial Blood Pressure Reduction

Background: Most treated hypertensive patients do not achieve adequate blood pressure (BP) control. Initiating therapy with two drugs has been suggested when BP is >20/10 mm Hg above goal. To ensure patients' compliance, such treatment needs to be well tolerated and must not compromise health-related quality of life (HRQL). The primary objective of this study was to compare the effects on HRQL of initiating treatment with felodipine + metoprolol (F+M) fixed combination tablets, or enalapril (E), or placebo (P). Methods: A total of 947 patients of both sexes with primary hypertension (diastolic BP 95 to 110 mm Hg), aged 20 to 70 years, participated in this randomized, double-blind, parallel group, 12-week, multicenter trial. Treatment was initiated with F+M 5 + 50 mg, or E 10 mg, or P. Doses were doubled after 4 or 8 weeks if diastolic BP was >90 mm Hg. The HRQL was measured at baseline and at the last visit using two validated questionnaires: the Psychological General Well-being Index (PGWB) and the Subjective Symptom Assessment Profile (SSA-P). Office BP was measured at trough, that is, 24 h after the previous dose. Results: The HRQL was high at baseline and generally well maintained during the study. For example, the mean (SD) PGWB total score was 104 (16) at baseline and 105 (16) at 12 weeks in all three treatment groups. The BP reductions after F+M (18/14 mm Hg) and E (12/9 mm Hg) were significantly greater than after P (7/7 mm Hg), and the reduction after F+M was significantly greater than after E. Conclusions: The HRQL is maintained in the presence of substantial BP reduction during antihypertensive treatment with F+M fixed combination tablets. Am J Hypertens 2005;18:1313-1319 © 2005 American Journal of Hypertension, Lt

Influence of consecutive-day blood sampling on polymerase chain reaction-adjusted parasitological cure rates in an antimalarial-drug trial conducted in Tanzania

We assessed the influence that consecutive-day blood sampling, compared with single-day blood sampling, had on polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-adjusted parasitological cure after stepwise genotyping of merozoite surface proteins 2 (msp2) and 1 (msp1) in 106 children in Tanzania who had uncomplicated falciparum malaria treated with either sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine or artemether- lumefantrine; 78 of these children developed recurrent parasitemia during the 42-day follow-up period. Initial msp2 genotyping identified 27 and 33 recrudescences by use of single- and consecutive-day sampling, respectively; in subsequent msp1 genotyping, 17 and 21 of these episodes, respectively, were still classified as recrudescences; these results indicate a similar sensitivity of the standard single-day PCR protocol - that is, 82% (27/33) and 81% (17/21), in both genotyping steps. Interpretation of PCR-adjusted results will significantly depend on methodology. © 2007 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved