An analysis of the reasons affecting the evolution of academic spin-off founders’ motivations

In the last decades, universities are increasingly playing a key role in supporting innovation and competitiveness through a wide range of activities, ranging from patenting to the creation of academic spin-offs (ASOs). Several researches have shown that the process of creation of ASOs chiefly depends on the motivations of the founder, which has a critical impact also on the subsequent business performance. Notwithstanding, only few papers investigate whether and how the motivational factors could vary over time, as well as the reasons of their evolution. According to this, the aim of such research is to investigate the motivational factors that lead an academic to establish a spin-off, as well as to analyze whether, how and why these motivations vary over the time. To do this, a statistical survey on Italian academic spin-offs was performed. Results confirm that motivations change over time: while financial aspects become less important, academics over time recognize more importance to learning. The main reasons for this evolution are time, experience and financial gain. Moreover, the study highlights the importance of non-monetary motivations, thus posing challenges for universities.