How Technology Evolution and Disruption are Defining the World’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: The Case of Barcelona’s Startup Ecosystem

This article provides a critical overview of the development process of entrepreneurial ecosystems and the role played by technology and startups within such process. The analysis focus on the characteristics and components of entrepreneurial ecosystems with special attention to startups, as they are the main actors of these ecosystems. The objectives are reached through a critical literature review. Results show the evolution of these ecosystems, and an in-deep analysis of the role played by startups, big companies and governments in such evolution. The knowledge paradox between universities and startups is also taken into account together with and the importance of cities in the development of successful entrepreneurial ecosystems. We apply the result of our critical review to the analysis of the case of the Barcelona Ecosystem. Last section is devoted to policy implications for the strengthening of entrepreneurial ecosystems with special reference to the universities and the need for a redesign of technology transfer strategies. Success factors analysis and specific policy recommendations can help to a better understanding and policy planning of entrepreneurial ecosystems

Science and technology parks: creating new environments favourable to innovation

Science and technology parks as catalysts which provide a means to facilitate, by their proximity, innovation and knowledge sharin

Comparison of the thermal decomposition processes of several aminoalcohol-based ZnO inks with one containing ethanolamine

Four inks for the production of ZnO semiconducting films have been prepared with zinc acetate dihy-drate as precursor salt and one among the following aminoalcohols: aminopropanol (APr), aminomethylbutanol (AMB), aminophenol (APh) and aminobenzyl alcohol (AB) as stabilizing agent. Their thermaldecomposition process has been analyzed in situ by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scan-ning calorimetry (DSC) and evolved gas analysis (EGA), whereas the solid product has been analysedex-situ by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). Although, except for the APh ink, crys-talline ZnO is already obtained at 300◦C, the films contain an organic residue that evolves at highertemperature in the form of a large variety of nitrogen-containing cyclic compounds. The results indicatethat APr can be a better stabilizing agent than ethanolamine (EA). It gives larger ZnO crystal sizes withsimilar carbon content. However, a common drawback of all the amino stabilizers (EA included) is thatnitrogen atoms have not been completely removed from the ZnO film at the highest temperature of ourexperiments (600◦C)

Study of a sol-gel precursor and its evolution towards ZnO

The processes involved in the assembly of zinc acetate dihydrate {Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O} and ethanolamine (H2NCH2CH2OH), with or without 2-methoxyethanol as solvent, have been analysed by infrared spectra, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, powder X-ray diffraction and computational studies. Thermal evolution of the mixtures was characterized by thermoanalytical and structural techniques (thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy). Computational studies together with experiments served to thoroughly describe the precursor and its decomposition. The thermal decomposition of the mixture and its transformation into crystalline ZnO take place in a temperature range between 50 and 450 °C through different processes. With solvent, the processes need temperatures 90 oC higher with respect to the mixture without solvent, and ZnO arises at 250 ºC