Abstract
Using a sample of 7,260 university employees, we investigate how legitimacy, social and human capital influence the employees’ start-up propensity. We find that scientific legitimacy, as measured by the number of recently published peer reviewed scientific articles, and conference papers accepted had no significant effect. Scientific legitimacy measured as publications in non-peer review journals even had a negative effect. Popular legitimacy showed mixed results. Measured as number of articles in popular science publications showed positive correlations and other public media appearances had a non significant effect on start-up propensity. Individuals who are older and have higher level of human capital, measured as level of education are less likely to start firms. We also found that, people with more social capital, such as contact with external product development teams are more likely to start new firms. Taken together, the findings suggest that activities spanning the university-business divide increase the start-up propensity, while within university activities had no, or negative effects on the propensity. Consequently, universities interested in encouraging their employees to start firms should focus their attention on creating spanning activities rather than improving conditions for within university tenure.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acs, Z. J., Audretsch, D. B., Braunerhjelm, P., & Carlsson, B. (2004). The missing link: the knowledge filter and entrepreneursip in endogenous growth. Centre for Economic Policy Research: Discussion paper series.
Aldrich, H. (1999). Organizations evolving. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Aldrich, H. E., & Fiol, M. C. (1994). Fools rush in: The institutional context of industry creation. Academy of Management Review, 19, 645–670.
Allen, E.I., Elam, A., Langowitz, N., & Dean, M. (2007). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: 2007 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship. Babson College.
Barney, J., & Hansen, M. (1994). Trustworthiness as a source of competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 15, 175–190.
Bates, T. (1995). Self-employment entry across industry groups. Journal of Business Venturing, 10, 143–156.
Baum, J. A. C., & Silverman, B. S. (2004). Picking winners or building them? Alliance, intellectual, and human capital as selection criteria in venture financing and performance of biotechnology startups. Journal of Business Venturing, 19, 411–436.
Becker, G. S. (1993). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Behrens, T. R., & Gray, D. O. (2001). Unintended consequences of cooperative research: Impact of industry sponsorship on climate for academic freedom and other graduate student outcomes. Research Policy, 30, 179–199.
Bensaude-Vincent, B. (2001). A genealogy of the increasing gap between science and the public. Public Understanding of Science, 10, 99–113.
Bosma N., Jones, K., Autio, E., & Levie, J. (2007). Global Entrepreneurship: 2007 Excecutive Report. Babson College.
Brush, C. G., & Hisrich, R. D. (1991). Antecedent influences on women-owned businesses. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 6, 9–16.
Campell, C. (1992). A decision theory model for entrepreneurial acts. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 17, 21–27.
D’Este, P., & Neely, A. (2008). What are the factors that drive the engagement of academic researchers in knowledge transfer activities? Some reflections for future research. In J. Bessant & T. Venables (Eds.), Creating wealth from knowledge: Meeting the innovation challenge. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Davidsson, P., & Honig, B. (2003). The role of social and human capital among nascent entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing, 18, 301–331.
Delmar, F., Sjöberg, K., & Wiklund, J. (2003). The involvement in self-employment among the Swedish science and technology labor force between 1990 and 2000. Stockholm: ITPS.
Drori, I., Honig, B., & Sheaffer, Z. (2009). The life-cycle of an internet firm: Scripts, legitimacy and identity. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33, 715–738.
Duchesneau, D., & Gartner, W. (1990). A profile of new venture success and failure in an emerging industry. Journal of Business Venturing, 5, 297–312.
Etzkowitz, H. (1989). Entrepreneurial science in the academy: A case of the transformation of norms. Social Problems, 36, 14–29.
Etzkowitz, H. (2003). Innovation in innovation: The Triple Helix of University-industry-government relations. Social Science Information, 42, 293–337.
Evans, D., & Leighton, L. (1989). Some empirical aspects of entrepreneurship. American Economic Review, 79, 519–535.
Fini, R., Grimaldi, R., & Sobrero, M. (2009). Factors fostering academics to start-up new ventures: An assessment of Italian founders’ incentives. Journal of Technology Transfer, 34, 380–402.
Franklin, S. J., Wright, M., & Lockett, A. (2001). Academic and surrogate entrepreneurs in university spin-out companies. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 26, 127–141.
Gascoine, T., & Metcalfe, J. (1997). Incentives and impediments to scientists communicating through the media. Science Communication, 18, 265–282.
Gimeno, J., Folta, T., Cooper, A., & Woo, C. (1997). Survival of the fittest? Entrepreneurial human capital and the persistence of underperforming firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 750–783.
Hosmer, D. W., & Lemeshow, S. (1989). Applied logistic regression. New York: Wiley.
Inzelt, A. (2004). The evolution of university–industry–government relationships during transition. Research Policy, 33, 975–995.
Judge, T. A., Cable, D. M., Colbert, A. E., & Rynes, S. L. (2007). What causes a management article to be cited-Article, Author, or journal? Academy of Management Journal, 50, 491–506.
Klofsten, M., & Jones-Evans, D. (2000). Comparing academic entrepreneurship in Europe-the case of Sweden and Ireland. Small Business Economics, 14, 299–309.
Landström, H. (2005). Entreprenörskapets Rötter. Lund: Studentlitteratur AB.
Lounsbury, M., & Glynn, M. A. (2001). Cultural entrepreneurship: Stories, legitimacy, and the acquisition of resources. Strategic Management Journal, 22, 545–564.
Malmberg, A., & Power, D. (2008). The contribution of universities to innovation and economic development: In what sense a regional problem? Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 2, 233–245.
Miller, S., Fahy, D., & Team, The. E. S. Conet. (2009). Can science communication workshops train scientists for reflexive public engagement?: The ESConet experience. Science Communication, 31, 116–126.
Mincer, J. (1974). Schooling, experience and earnings. New York: Columbia University Press.
Owen-Smith, J., & Powell, W. W. (2001). To patent or not: Faculty decisions and institutional success at technology transfer. Journal of Technology Transfer, 26, 99–114.
Poliakoff, E., & Webb, T. L. (2007). What factors predict scientists’ intentions to participate in public engagement of science activities? Science Communication, 29, 242–263.
Portes, A. (1998). Social capital. Annual Review of Sociology, 23, 1–24.
Preisendörfer, P., & Voss, T. (1991). Organizational mortality of small firms: The effects of entrepreneurial age and human capital. Organizational Studies, 11, 107–129.
Roberts, E. (1991). Entrepreneurs in high technology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Romer, P. (1986). Increasing returns and long run growth. Journal of Political Economy, 94, 1002–1037.
Schartinger, D., Rammer, C., Fröhlich, J., & Fischer, M. M. (2002). Knowledge interactions between universities and industry in Austria: Sectoral patterns and determinants. Research Policy, 31, 303–328.
Schultz, T. (1959). Investment in man: An economist’s view. Social Science Review, 33, 69–75.
Schwartz, M. (2009). Beyond incubation: An analysis of firm survival and exit dynamics in the post-graduation period. Journal of Technology Transfer, 34, 403–421.
Shane, S. (2004). Academic entrepreneurship: University spinoffs and wealth creation. Massachusets: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Shane, S., & Stuart, T. (2002). Organizational endowments and the performance of university start-ups. Management Science, 48, 154–170.
Spector, P. E. (1981). Research designs. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Starbuck, W. H. (2005). How much better are the most-prestigious journals: The statistics of academic publication. Organization Science, 16, 180–200.
Stinchcombe, A. L. (1965). Social structure and organizations. In J. G. March (Ed.), Handbook of organizations (pp. 142–193). Chicago: Rand McNally.
Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20, 571–610.
Sussman, M., Koeningsberg, J., & Bongard, B. (1989). The business of ivory tower research. Paradigms for University-corporate partnerships. Journal of Business and Psychology, 4, 251–258.
Torero, M., Darby, M., & Zucker, L. (2001). The importance of intellectual human capital in the birth of the semiconductor industry. Working paper. UCLA.
Tornikoski, E. T., & Newbert, S. L. (2007). Exploring the determinants of organizational emergence: A legitimacy perspective. Journal of Business Venturing, 22, 311–335.
Terjesen, S., & Hessels, J. (2010) Turning virtue into necessity outsourcing in biotechnology startups (forthcoming).
Zimmerman, M. A., & Zeitz, G. J. (2002). Beyond survival: Achieving new venture growth by building legitimacy. Academy of Management Review, 27, 414–431.
Zott, C., & Huy, Q. N. (2007). How entrepreneurs use symbolic management to acquire resources. Administrative Science Quarterly, 52, 70–105.
Acknowledgments
The authors wants to thank, Siri Terjesen, Jolanda Hessels, Craig Mitchell and an anonymous reviewer for excellent feedback throughout the writing process.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Karlsson, T., Wigren, C. Start-ups among university employees: the influence of legitimacy, human capital and social capital. J Technol Transf 37, 297–312 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-010-9175-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-010-9175-6