Developing technology in the vicinity of science: Do firms really benefit? An empirical assessment on the level of Italian provinces.

The article examines whether firms benefit from the presence of universities when developing technology. By estimating regional knowledge production functions for 101 Italian regions, we observe a strong positive relation between industrial technological performance – measured by patents – and the local presence of universities. In addition, 'academic' regions witness higher levels of industrial technological output, the more pronounced the scientific eminence of the regional universities. Finally, our analysis indicates that the observed spillover effects are field-specific, with domains situated in the vicinity of science benefiting most. Together, these findings suggest complementary roles for scientific and industrial actors within regional innovation systems.Regional Innovation Systems; Technology transfer; University-Firm Knowledge Spillovers; Technology; Science; Firms; Research;

Entrepreneurial intention: An analysis of the role of Student‑Led Entrepreneurial Organizations

Although a great deal of attention has been paid to entrepreneurship education, only a few studies have analysed the impact of extra-curricular entrepreneurial activities on students’ entrepreneurial intention. The aim of this study is to fill this gap by exploring the role played by Student-Led Entrepreneurial Organizations (SLEOs) in shaping the entrepreneurial intention of their members. The analysis is based on a survey that was conducted in 2016 by one of the largest SLEOs in the world: the Junior Enterprises Europe (JEE). The main result of the empirical analysis is that the more time students spent on JEE and the higher the number of events students attended, the greater their entrepreneurial intention was. It has been found that other important drivers also increase students’ entrepreneurial intention, that is, the Science and Technology field of study and the knowledge of more than two foreign languages. These results confirm that SLEOs are able to foster students’ entrepreneurial intention. The findings provide several theoretical, practical and public policy implications. SLEOs are encouraged to enhance their visibility and lobbying potential in order to be recognized more as drivers of student entrepreneurship. In addition, it is advisable for universities and policy makers to support SLEOs by fostering their interactions with other actors operating in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, who promote entrepreneurship and technology transfer activities. Lastly, this paper advises policy makers to assist SLEOs’ activities inside and outside the university context

Students’ Entrepreneurial Orientation in Italy: do digital and coding skills matter?

The literature presents several papers regarding students’ entrepreneurial intention. However, only a few papers have recently analyzed student entrepreneurship. This paper aims at improving our understanding on this by testing if digital and coding skills matter for entrepreneurial orientation and student entrepreneurship. Adopting a Human Capital and Social Capital Theory perspective, we hypnotized that these individual skills may have a statistically and positive impact on entrepreneurial orientation and student entrepreneurship. Based on Logit and Probit regression analyses on more than 2000 Italian university students, we confirmed our hypotheses

Are social incubators different from other incubators? Evidence from Italy

This paper defines and analyses incubators that mainly support start-ups with a significant social impact. In 2016, a survey was conducted on the 162 incubators active in Italy, and a total of 88 responses were received. An analysis of the literature and of this dataset led to the identification of three types of incubators: Business, Mixed, and Social. Thirty of the respondents sent information on their tenants. Thanks to the data regarding 247 tenants, it was possible to analyze the impact of the three different types of incubators (Business, Mixed, and Social) on the tenants’ growth through OLS regression analyses. A Social Incubator is here defined as an incubator that supports more than 50% of start-ups that aim to introduce a positive social impact. The study shows that Social Incubators perceive social impact measurement and training/consulting on business ethics and CSR as being more important services than other incubator types. The regression analyses explain that Social Incubators are as efficient as other incubators, in terms of tenants’ economic growth, notwithstanding the focus of Social Incubators on start-ups that do not pursue only economic objectives. Finally, this study indicates that policymakers can foster Social Incubators to support social entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship Education: the impact of different teaching models on the development of new ventures

The creation of innovative businesses (startups and spinoffs) is a phenomenon capable of stimulating the economy. The literature finds that entrepreneurship education (EE) impacts entrepreneurial intention. The aim of this research is to enter the black box of entrepreneurship teaching models in order to uncover their different impact on the creation of university entrepreneurial outcome. University entrepreneurial outcome is measured by the number of spinoffs created by 80 US universities in the Association of University Technology (AUTM) database from 2011 to 2014. This research, through analyses of 1,262 entrepreneurship courses in US universities along a time span of 4 years, shows that demand models and the competence models have a positive impact on the creation of academic spinoffs. Implications for professors teaching entrepreneurship, universities, policy makers and students are discussed

Money management and entrepreneurial training in microfinance: impact on beneficiaries and institutions

This study uses a randomized control trial to evaluate the outcome of integrating money management and entrepreneurial training into a microcredit program in India. We find positive and significant effects on clients' financial management skills and entrepreneurship abilities, particularly for clients with higher human capital, or more diligent, or having an entrepreneurial idea, and an increase in initiative and self-confidence. Effects appear stronger for clients obliged to attend the training course or more interested in attending it. By considering missed or delayed repayments reduction we assess the benefits of the training provided and of extending it for the institution

Human protein C concentrates in adult septic patients

Some case reports and case series suggest that protein C concentrates may improve the outcome in patients with congenital or acquired protein C deficiency (not only in those with sepsis induced purpura fulminans). We reviewed the published literature on the use of protein C concentrates in adult septic patients and found that it is limited to less than 70 patients reported in observational studies with a 70% survival, and added our personal experience (two adult patients with sepsis and contraindications to recombinant activated protein C)

Science and Technology Parks impacts on tenant organisations: a review of literature

Sixty years after the establishment of the first science park at Stanford University, Science and Technology Parks (STPs) have reached a worldwide diffusion. Many papers have discussed parks’ role in promoting new technology-based firms (NTBFs) and their impacts on firms’ performances, often drawing contrasting conclusions. On the one hand, some authors believe that STPs have generally failed to foster the establishment and growth of NTBFs or to encourage technology transfer among firms and public research organisations. These authors’ opinion on STPs is that those that are “successful” do nothing more than group successful firms together in the same area. According to other authors STPs are instead of actual added value to the on-park firms and to the territory in which they are located. The added value is measured for instance by the increased growth rate in turnovers and number of employees, greater resource diversification, and lower mortality rates. In particular, in some cases, science parks seem to be able to positively affect the innovative activities of tenant firms (in terms of R&D expenditure and intensity, number of patent applications, number of copyrights and publications, number of new products/services launched, etc.). In this paper we comprehensively analyse the literature on STPs, emphasizing the role that parks play in supporting R&D activities both in public research organisations and firms, assessing, according to literature, the added value of an on-park location. Finally, we discuss the limits of the literature and provide suggestions for future research

Science and Technology Parks impacts on tenant organisations: a review of literature

Sixty years after the establishment of the first science park at Stanford University, Science and Technology Parks (STPs) have reached a worldwide diffusion. Many papers have discussed parks’ role in promoting new technology-based firms (NTBFs) and their impacts on firms’ performances, often drawing contrasting conclusions. On the one hand, some authors believe that STPs have generally failed to foster the establishment and growth of NTBFs or to encourage technology transfer among firms and public research organisations. These authors’ opinion on STPs is that those that are “successful” do nothing more than group successful firms together in the same area. According to other authors STPs are instead of actual added value to the on-park firms and to the territory in which they are located. The added value is measured for instance by the increased growth rate in turnovers and number of employees, greater resource diversification, and lower mortality rates. In particular, in some cases, science parks seem to be able to positively affect the innovative activities of tenant firms (in terms of R&D expenditure and intensity, number of patent applications, number of copyrights and publications, number of new products/services launched, etc.). In this paper we comprehensively analyse the literature on STPs, emphasizing the role that parks play in supporting R&D activities both in public research organisations and firms, assessing, according to literature, the added value of an on-park location. Finally, we discuss the limits of the literature and provide suggestions for future research

Developing radically new meanings through the collaboration with radical circles: Slow Food as a platform for envisioning innovative meanings

Purpose The importance and complexity of proposing radically-new meanings are well established in the literature. However, a limited number of contributions have analyzed how they can be developed. In this work, we analyze the development of radically-new meanings at the basis of the Slow Food movement to contribute to the topic. Design approach In order to better understand how social movements can propose radically-new meanings and how companies can take inspiration and build a competitive advantage by leveraging the proposed meanings, we deeply analyzed the genealogy of Slow Food, interpreted as an inspiring case study; we adopt a narrative approach. Findings The analysis of how Slow Food emerged and evolved into an international movement reveals an alternative way to develop innovative meanings in collaboration with groups of radicals. We identify three main phases in the evolution of innovative meanings: generation, institutionalization and development. Practical implications In terms of managerial implications we contribute highlighting the importance of a new type of collaborative innovation: the collaboration with radical circles and social movements in their early stage. Social implications From a societal point of view, if we acknowledge the importance of social movements in contesting and actively changing institutions, we can see the importance for policy makers to create loci and opportunities for the emergence of radical circles and their experimentations. Originality We propose that new meanings are frequently the result of small groups of individuals gathering in radical circles. The core attribute of such circles is group validation. The group supports the Slow Food leader in refining the meaning and confronting the dominant paradigm