Characteristics of Early-stage University Spin-offs that Benefit Governmental Funding Acquisition

The growing relevance of university spin-off development to successfully enable the technology transfer from academia to society has facilitated the emergence of this research topic. The path from the laboratory to a viable firm is difficult and complex, requiring the venture to successfully overcome many junctures and liabilities, one of these could be the governmental funding acquisition. This study examines the impact of concepts such as market knowledge, venture championing in the form of motivation, business networks, scientific-business based teams, and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection on governmental funding acquisition. Applying binomial logistic regression analysis on a unique dataset of 242 early-stage university spin-off proposals reveals that market knowledge, motivation and scientific-business diverse teams have a significant positive effect on governmental funding acquisition. These findings have implications for theory, such as approving existing notions, extending these concepts toward governmental funding acquisition, and expanding the list for additional research and validation. This study provides practitioners with unique insights, such as the knowledge of the intended market and consumers, motivation, and knowledge diverse teams are more advantageous and should be developed to the greatest extent possible before submitting the grant proposal. Finally, policy implications include providing additional support in the form of seminars and classes with mentors or specialists, in addition to financing.