Firms’ genetic characteristics and competence-enlarging strategies: A comparison between academic and non-academic high-tech start-ups

This paper argues that academic high-tech start-ups exhibit peculiar “genetic characteristics” that leave an enduring imprint on firm development. We formulate a series of hypotheses on the effects of such genetic characteristics on the post-entry strategies that academic high-tech start-ups adopt to enlarge their initial competence endowments. In the empirical section, we use matched-pair statistical techniques and run several regressions to test the theoretical hypotheses. Our findings contribute to the literature on the antecedents of the strategies adopted by academic high-tech start-ups. They also allow us to derive implications for academic entrepreneurs, university managers and policy makers.

► The genetic characteristics of academic start-ups leave an imprint on firm development. In particular, they differently shape the strategies these firms adopt to enlarge their initial competence endowments with respect to non-academic start-ups. ► Academic start-ups find it easier to hire qualified (presumably technical) personnel and collaborate more with public research organisations than non-academic start-ups. In so doing they further improve their technological and scientific competencies. ► Academic start-ups do not exhibit a greater propensity than do their non-academic peers to resort to alliances with other firms or to make internal investments in the commercial function, so as to counterbalance the lack of industry-specific and managerial competencies of their founders.