'Meet the parents': the importance of 'pre-conception' conditions in facilitating high-technology spin-out companies

Encouraging the spinning out of high tech companies from higher education institutes (HEIS) is now a major tenet of industrial policy in the UK and other European countries. New enterprise formation is seen as a vehicle for technology transfer and the commercialisation of research by universities, and independent and government funded research institutes. Despite the proliferation of schemes and mechanisms supporting would-be entrepreneurs and their nascent enterprises, we are still some way from identifying the factors making for success. Understanding any scheme aimed at generating new technology based firms (ntbfs) requires a holistic approach which considers the nature of the parent research organisation, the local economic context, the specific objectives of the scheme and the changing needs of new enterprises. The nature of the parent is particularly important in setting what may be seen as 'pre-conception' conditions: namely inspiration, motivation, willingness to take risk and identification of potential idea. This paper describes differences found in these pre-conception conditions in a number of research organisations in the UK.entrepreneurship, new technology based firms, business incubation, research organisations, organisation culture

Close Encounters: Evidence of the potential benefits of proximity to local industrial clusters

Local clusters of high technology small businesses are of increasing interest to politician and academics. This papers draws on a study of 237 high tech small businesses located throughout the UK. Combining information on activity and location, firms were grouped according to their potential degree of embeddedness in local industrial clusters. Businesses with differing levels of cluster involvement were then examined in terms of market structure, supportiveness of local cluster and their performance. The findings lend support to the role of untraded rather than traded interdependencies in the dynamics of localised high tech clusters. Research indicating compensating behaviour by high tech businesses disadvantaged by location is also supported, emphasising the need to consider not only the location and activity but also entrepreneurial objectives.high technology small firms, business clusters, rural locations, untraded interdependencies

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Entrepreneurs' Intentions and Objectives

Entrepreneurship has become an important issue for policy. At one level, enterprise creation is recognised as important for employment growth and effecting structural change; at another, there is concern to encourage existing firms to become more entrepreneurial as a means of enhancing international competitiveness. Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) reflected in recurring organisational behaviour such as innovativeness, pro-activeness and risk-taking is important in the latter context. This paper explores the extent to which differences in motives, intentions and personal objectives held by entrepreneurs were reflected in organisational behaviour relating to the dimensions of EO suggested by Lumpkin and Dess. The paper reports on a group of 153 high-tech CEOs first surveyed in 1998 when information was sought about their family and educational background, antecedents to setting up in business, motivations for doing so and personal objectives. The same CEOs were subsequently surveyed early in 2001. This second study examined ownership structures, perception of competitive issues, market characteristics, innovative behaviour, attitudes towards HRM policies, personal objectives, approaches towards risk and recent performance.entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial orientation, high technology small firms

High Tech Businesses in the UK: performance and niche markets

This paper presents the findings of a survey of 237 high tech small and medium sized businesses based in the UK. The survey is part of an ongoing comparative study of high tech small businesses in the UK and Japan. The paper describes the growth, innovative activity and market structure of businesses studied. Based on characteristics of the businesses and their CEOs five 'types' of high tech small business are identified. Differences between the types of business in respect of market structure, competitive advantages and limitations suggest fundamental differences in 'niche' markets. At one extreme are niche markets in which the technology is embodied in the person: the scientific or technical expert, at the other niche markets in which the technology is embodied in the product or service product. Implications for innovation, growth and policy associated with these differences are discussed.high technology small firms, innovation, niche markets

The Beer Beneath The Froth: Preliminary findings from case studies of 25 small high technology firms

Across Europe those who create and run high-tech SMEs have become a primary focus of industrial policy. Part of the rationale for the focus on small high-tech firms lies in the desire to emulate the experience of the US, particularly Silicon Valley and Boston in which spinning off new ventures from research institutions has been seen to play a key role. By comparison the performance of Europe’s research base has been less dynamic. A more pro?active stance towards new ventures created by HEIs is welcomed, however to focus policy too narrowly on this group has inherent dangers. There is a danger of implicitly promoting a particular business model: one emphasising personal financial gain and venture capital funding, which may be at variance with those prevailing among the broad spectrum of existing high-tech small firms. The characteristics, pre-occupations and problems of the vast bulk of small firms operating in high-tech sectors, and making a contribution to international competitiveness through innovation and export may be overlooked in the current policy climate. By way of redress this paper reports the preliminary findings from a qualitative study of 25 existing small high technology firms in the UK. The themes outlined include: the motivation and drivers of entrepreneurship, the nature of collaboration with HEIs, relationships with customers and the development of ‘customer empathy’ and experiences of venture capital.entrepreneurship, high-tech small firms, venture capitalists, customer relationships

Entrepreneurs, HRM Orientations and Environmental Fit: A UK-Japan Comparison in High Tech Manufacturing

Entrepreneurs cannot develop a business single handedly. One of the most important tasks the entrepreneur faces is to recruit, allocate work to, motivate and retain employees who will help the business to grow. Based on survey data, this paper examines the HRM orientations of UK and Japanese high tech manufacturing entrepreneurs, and identifies fundamentally different approaches to these tasks, at least as expressed by the entrepreneurs. The UK entrepreneurs espouse an employment relationship based on 'give and take' flexibility, while the Japanese entrepreneurs are more focused on raising or nurturing their employees. Reasons for the differences are explored, and relate to the entrepreneurs' backgrounds, as well as the business and social environment. Implications for the 'new employment relationship' are explored.Entrepreneurship; HR management; High-tech small firms

Spinning off new ventures: a typology of facilitating services

This study analyses the spin-out activity in seven technology transfer units, which are considered to be successes in Europe: Crealys in France, the Top Initiative of the university of Twente in the Netherlands, Leuven R&D at the KUL in Belgium, Business Develop-ment at IMEC in Belgium, BioM in Germany (Munich area), Technology Transfer Partners (TTP) and Scientific Generics, both in Cam-bridge, UK. In each of these institutes, an in depth analysis is made of how they organise the following activities: (1) sensibilisation and Detection of opportunities, (2) management of IPR, (3) selection of spin-out projects, (4) incubation and business plan preparation, (5) financing of these spin-outs and finally (6) the follow-up of spin-outs after start-up. Based upon the analysis of these activities, three different models have been defined: a self selective model, a supportive model and a protective model. In the first model, the specific aim is to generate as many start-ups as possible. Stimulating general entrepreneurship rather than financially or economically attractive companies are thus the goal. This means that sensibilisation and opportunity seeking is the main activity. In the second model, the emphasis lies on creating economically attractive companies with a transitional starter profile. These companies might not yet have a financially attractive business plan but have the ambition to make one in the future. Usually they are based upon the IP generated in the mother institute. Management of IPR and business plan preparation are crucial activities in this model. Finally, the protective model focuses on the creation of financially attractive companies, which receive VC-money at start. In addition to the previous activities, also financing activities are of crucial importance here. In addition to analysing the activities developed in each of these models, also theresources necessary to organise these activities are examined. In the first model, the crucial resources seem to be an experienced entrepreneur as manager who can sensibilise students, researchers and professors to start up a company and public money to facilitate this start up. In the second model, a financially autonomous organisation is needed which is strongly supported by the top management of the university in its activities. This organisation needs to have a minimum critical mass of people specialised in legal issues, IPR and business plan development. In addition, a public-private early stage. Capital fund is needed to support the start-ups. Finally, the protective organisation needs a worldwide recognised leading research team in a particular technology. The tech transfer or business development unit needs to be able to incubate the organisation and facilitate the recruitment of external management, attraction of international early stage venture capital and the formation of the company's intellectual property base

Undergraduate Medical Student Empathy: Current Perspectives

Empathy is important to patient care. It enhances patients’ satisfaction, comfort, self-efficacy and trust which in turn may facilitate better diagnosis, shared decision making and therapy adherence. Empathetic doctors experience greater job satisfaction, and psychological well-being. Understanding the development of empathy of tomorrow’s healthcare professionals is important. However, clinical empathy is poorly defined and difficult to measure, whilst ways to enhance it remain unclear. This review examines empathy among undergraduate medical students, focusing upon three main questions. How is empathy measured? This section discusses the problems of assessing empathy and outlines the utility of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy–Student Version and Davis’s Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Both have been used widely to assess medical student empathy. Does empathy changes during undergraduate medical education? The trajectory of empathy during undergraduate medical education has been and continues to be debated. Potential reasons for contrasting results of studies are outlined. What factors may influence the development of empathy? Although the influence of gender is widely recognised, the impact of culture, psychological well-being and aspects of undergraduate curricula are less well understood. Conclusions: This review identifies three inter-related issues for future research into undergraduate medical student empathy. First is the need for greater clarity of definition, recognizing that empathy is multi-dimensional. Second is the need to develop meaningful ways of measuring empathy which include its component dimensions and which are relevant to patients’ experiences. Medical education research has generally relied upon single, self-report instruments which have utility across large populations but are limited. Finally there is a need for greater methodological rigor in investigating the possible determinants of clinical empathy in medical education. Greater specificity of context and the incorporation of work from other disciplines may facilitate this.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Dove Medical Press via https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S7680

Undergraduate medical students' empathy: current perspectives.

Empathy is important to patient care. It enhances patients' satisfaction, comfort, self-efficacy, and trust which in turn may facilitate better diagnosis, shared decision making, and therapy adherence. Empathetic doctors experience greater job satisfaction and psychological well-being. Understanding the development of empathy of tomorrow's health care professionals is important. However, clinical empathy is poorly defined and difficult to measure, while ways to enhance it remain unclear. This review examines empathy among undergraduate medical students, focusing upon three main questions: How is empathy measured? This section discusses the problems of assessing empathy and outlines the utility of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Student Version and Davis's Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Both have been used widely to assess medical students' empathy. Does empathy change during undergraduate medical education? The trajectory of empathy during undergraduate medical education has been and continues to be debated. Potential reasons for contrasting results of studies are outlined. What factors may influence the development of empathy? Although the influence of sex is widely recognized, the impact of culture, psychological well-being, and aspects of undergraduate curricula are less well understood. This review identifies three interrelated issues for future research into undergraduate medical students' empathy. First, the need for greater clarity of definition, recognizing that empathy is multidimensional. Second, the need to develop meaningful ways of measuring empathy which include its component dimensions and which are relevant to patients' experiences. Medical education research has generally relied upon single, self-report instruments, which have utility across large populations but are limited. Finally, there is a need for greater methodological rigor in investigating the possible determinants of clinical empathy in medical education. Greater specificity of context and the incorporation of work from other disciplines may facilitate this.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Dove Medical Press via https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S7680

Medical Students' Death Anxiety: Severity and Association With Psychological Health and Attitudes Toward Palliative Care.

CONTEXT: Death anxiety (DA) is related to awareness of the reality of dying and death and can be negatively related to a person's psychological health. Physicians' DA also may influence their care for patients approaching death. Doctors face death in a professional context for the first time at medical school, but knowledge about DA among medical students is limited. OBJECTIVES: This study examined medical students' DA in relation to: 1) its severity, gender differences, and trajectory during medical education and 2) its associations with students' attitudes toward palliative care and their psychological health. METHODS: Four cohorts of core science and four cohorts of clinical students at the University of Cambridge Medical School took part in a questionnaire survey with longitudinal follow-up. Students who provided data on the revised Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale were included in the analysis (n = 790). RESULTS: Medical students' DA was moderate, with no gender differences and remained very stable over time. High DA was associated with higher depression and anxiety levels and greater concerns about the personal impact of providing palliative care. CONCLUSION: The associations between high DA and lower psychological health and negative attitudes toward palliative care are concerning. It is important to address DA during medical education to enhance student's psychological health and the quality of their future palliative care provision.The study was funded by the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine and Research Capacity Funding from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group. Dr. Barclay is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) East of England at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.This is the accepted manuscript of a paper published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (Thiemann P, Quince T, Benson J, Wood D, Barclay S, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (2015) 50(3); 335-342, doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.03.014). The final version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.03.01