University spin-outs: what do we know and what are the policy implications? Evidence from the UK

This letter from academia reviews the academic literature and provides an overview of the trends in spin-outs from universities in the UK. We argue that it is important to develop a more comprehensive ecosystem for academic entrepreneurship that includes a wider range of actors and mechanisms. We outline a framework of such an ecosystem and accompanying research agenda

UK family businesses: industrial and geographical context, governance and performance

This report investigates family businesses in the UK and focuses on their incidence, industrial and geographical context and their governance and performance relative to non-family businesses. The sample includes near population UK data for the period 2007 to 2009 of privately held incorporated firms (excluding listed/quoted firms) and analyses around 3 million firm-year observations. The report compares and contrasts family businesses with non-family businesses with reference to governance and performance during the current recession. Family businesses that are structured with 'family trusts/settlements' are considered as an important sub-sample of family businesses in the report. The analysis highlights important differences between family and non-family firms across a number of dimensions of governance and firm performance

Institutional determinants of university spin-off quantity and quality: a longitudinal, multilevel, cross-country study

The creation of spin-off firms from universities is seen as an important mechanism for the commercialization of research, and hence the overall contribution from universities to technological development and economic growth. Governments and universities are seeking to develop framework conditions that are conductive to spin-off creation. The most prevalent of such initiatives are legislative changes at national level and the establishment of technology transfer offices at university level. The effectiveness of such initiatives is debated, but empirical evidence is limited. In this paper, we analyze the full population of universities in Italy, Norway, and the UK; three countries adopting differing approaches to framework conditions, to test whether national- and university-level initiatives have an influence on the number of spin-offs created and the quality of these spin-offs. Building on institutional theory and using multilevel analysis, we find that changes in the institutional framework conditions at both national and university levels are conductive to the creation of more spin-offs, but that the increase in quantity is at the expense of the quality of these firms. Hence, the effect of such top–down changes in framework conditions on the economic impact from universities seems to be more symbolic than substantive

Parental behaviors and next-generation engagement in family firms: a social cognitive perspective

Next-generation engagement is a key contributor to the success and continuity of family businesses. It has been recognized that family relationships are an important factor in shaping such engagement. However, we know little as to how this process unfolds especially during the formative years of next-generation members. Using the principles of social cognitive theory and drawing from the literatures of career development, organizational behavior and family business, we propose a conceptual model that examines the psychological mechanisms linking parental behavior and next-generation engagement. We argue that parental behaviors influence next-generation engagement through its effects on next-generation members’ self-efficacy and commitment. We elaborate on this model by presenting contingency factors that moderate the proposed relationships. Lastly, we offer theoretical implications that can open new avenues for future research

Leveraged buyouts and recession

• After unprecedented levels of deal activity in 2007, the descent into recession in 2008 has presented both challenges and opportunities for the buyout and private equity market. • We will likely see higher failure rates of buyouts as a consequence of highly leveraged transactions running into difficulties. • Private equity-backed and larger buyouts appear less likely to fail than other buyouts. Secured creditors on average recover about 60% of their loans in failed buyouts. • The increase in general business failure associated with recession introduces opportunities for buyouts to rescue and turn around these failing firms, with retail sector deals especially prevalent in recent years. • Private equity firms can take advantage of the increased supply of failing firms provided that they have the necessary means (financial and management skills) to turn the businesses around. • Private equity firms have been less in active in recent years in buying failed firms, though there have been some significant transactions. • Buyouts of failed firms are disproportionately more likely to fail again than buyouts from other vendor sources

A Nation of Angels: Assessing the impact of angel investing across the UK

In a European context, the UK business angel market is seen as one of the most mature and extensively researched. However, there is a lack of recent systematic evidence on the profile and approach of business angels, their investing activities and notably their impact on the growth and performance of the businesses in which they invest. This report sets out to fill this gap by providing new findings from the largest survey of business angels in the UK and the impact of their investment activities to date. This report, commissioned by the UKBAA in association with the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE) and with the support of the BVCA, Deloitte, Barclays and the ESRC, presents the results of the largest study of the investment behaviour and impact of business angels in the UK to date. The study comprised responses from 403 individual angels who responded to the online Nation of Angels survey, detailed follow-up telephone interviews with 42 individual angels who shared more details of their investment behaviour, and an online survey of 28 angel syndicate and network leads across the UK representing 8,000 angels

Management buyouts and board transformation in China’s transition economy

Management buyouts (MBOs) involving the acquisition of firms by incumbent managers by who take on financial leverage, often with the involvement of private equity firms (Gilligan and Wright 2010), have become an international phenomenon. Over three decades they have diffused from the US, to Europe and to Asia (Wright et al. 2007). From OECD countries they have also played an important role in the transformation of Central and Eastern Europe (Wright et al. 1994) and more recently have emerged in China (Sun et al. 2010)

Chinese management buyouts and board transformation

We assess the extent to which Chinese MBOs of listed corporations enable a balance to be achieved between facilitating growth and supporting the interests of minority shareholders other than the buyout organization. Using novel, hand-collected data from 19 MBOs of listed corporations in China, a matched sample of 19 non-MBOs and the population of listed corporations, we examine the extent to which boards of directors are changed to bring in executive and outside directors with the skills to grow as well as restructure a business. We also examine the extent to which outside directors become involved in actions to develop the business rather than actions related to fostering the interests of all shareholders. We find in fact little evidence that outside board members have the skills to add value to the MBO firms. Boards appear to focus mainly on related-party transactions with some more limited attention to growth strategies. Outside directors do not seem to openly disagree with incumbent managers on the disclosure of their actions but may express their views and exert pressure behind the scenes

The role of private equity when portfolio firms go public: Evidence from ChiNext board

We probe into the question of why entrepreneurial firms choose to obtain private equity finance (PE) shortly before going public on the ChiNext Board (the Chinese alternative stock market for smaller firms, part of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, SZSE). Using unique hand-collected data we find that, compared with non-PE-backed firms, firms with PE equity stakes introduced shortly before the IPO did not reduce IPO underpricing or decrease the offering cost. However PE investors increased the probability of approval when the firms applied to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) for listing. We suggest the stock issuance rules for the ChiNext should be reformed to lower entrepreneurial firms’ financing cost and to encourage PE firms to undertake more value-adding activities

Agency, strategic entrepreneurship, and the performance of private equity-backed buyouts

Agency theory has focused on buyouts as a governance and control device to increase profitability, organizational efficiency, and limited attention to growth. A strategic entrepreneurship view of buyouts incorporates upside incentives for value creation associated with growth as well as efficiency gains. In this paper, we develop the complementarity between agency theory and strategic entrepreneurship perspectives to examine the performance implications for different types of buyouts. Further, we study how the involvement of private equity (PE) firms is related to the performance of the post-buyout firm. These issues are examined for a sample of 238 PE-backed buyouts in the UK between 1993 and 2003. Implications for theory and practice are suggested