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Purpose: Academic spin-off firms are considered an important mechanism to transfer technological knowledge from university to industry, although they often show a low growth rate. One possible cause is the lack of proper marketing capabilities, since spin-off managers tend to reduce the role of marketing to the implementation of mere tactical activities. This study analyses whether spin-off firms adopt a market orientation and the effect it produces on firms' economic and innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical analysis is based on both quantitative survey data and in-depth interviews, referring to a unique sample including Italian and Spanish spin-off companies. Findings: Results highlight that MKTOR and MARKOR measurement scales show different abilities to capture the implementation of market orientation by sampled firms. We find that the generation and dissemination of information on customers and competitors directly affect firms' ability to develop technological innovations and gain profits. Nevertheless, market orientation also constitutes a challenge to spin-offs, and may eventually generate inefficiencies when external technological conditions require firms to respond quickly to environmental stimuli. Practical implications: The findings of this study are relevant to academic spin-off managers who are responsible for adopting, implementing and maintaining market orientation strategies under different environmental conditions. Limitations: The characteristics of sample used for the quantitative analysis may limit the generalization of results. Originality/value: Even though the market orientation concept has been largely analyzed, no previous study has examined its application by academic spin-offs. By employing qualitative and quantitative analyses we provide novel insights in this respect.

This work explores which factors increase firms' propensity to enter into international markets. The study draws on the resource-based view and assesses the effect played by firms' technological capabilities and cost structures on entry. While many research papers consider those two factors to be independent one from the other, this study focuses on their interactive effect. Empirical analysis covers the whole population of Spanish pharmaceutical firms over the period 1995-2004. By using data on trademarks filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the study identifies those firms that have entered the US market with branded products. Then, the study uses a hazard model to empirically estimate which firms' resources and capabilities affect the probability of entry. Results show that firms can maximize the likelihood of entry in foreign markets by pursuing hybrid competitive strategies that combine together scope economies and cost efficiency.

Firms have been modifying their innovation management processes to generate, implement and exploit new technological knowledge. A gradual shift from a closed to an open model of innovation has been the recurring pattern of this change. Firms have to revise their overall strategic orientation to adapt their managerial procedures according to the Open Innovation (OI) paradigm. The New Service-Dominant (S-D) Logic can offer a useful guideline to firms in the implementation of an OI model. This paper presents the bases of the OI paradigm by means of the S-D Logic mindset. For each of the premises characterizing the S-D Logic, instances of firms that have implicitly adopted the OI paradigm are provided. We discuss how the S-D Logic can be put in practice within the context of the OI model.

The exchange of technologies and technological knowledge — through joint-ventures, partnerships, licensing, cross-licensing, R&D contracts — and the upsurge of markets for technology are main features of the "knowledge-based" economy. Accordingly, companies are gradually changing their aptitude towards technology trading and exchange. This paper discusses the extent of technology licensing in chemicals, and considers the licensing strategies adopted by large chemical companies. Specifically, by analysing the case of Himont — widely involved in licensing its process technology — this paper explores the motivations for technology licensing, the managerial solutions that Himont adopted for licensing its technology, and the implications of this strategy in terms of antitrust policy. One of the main results emerging from the analysis is the role of external technology suppliers. By increasing the potential competition in the downstream product market, they create incentives for incumbent firms to license-out their technologies, and earn additional profits in the market for technology.

This book re-examines the rationale for public policy, concluding that the prevailing ‘public knowledge' model is evolving towards a networked or distributed model of knowledge production and use in which public and private institutions play complementary roles. It provides a set of tools and models to assess the impact of the new network model of funding and governance, and argues that governments need to adapt their funding and administrative priorities and procedures to support the emergence and healthy growth of research networks. The book goes on to explain that interdependencies and complementarities in the production and distribution of knowledge require a new and more contextual, flexible and complex approach to government funding, monitoring and assessment.

Few industries epitomize the market for knowledge as the chemical industry. Large and small companies, universities, and research laboratories are heterogeneous sources of scientific and technological knowledge. Market and non-market interactions are the means through which knowledge diffuses among them, and enhance the potential complementarities.

1. Introduzione In un momento storico in cui la necessità di un sostegno pubblico alla ricerca scientifica viene messo in discussione ed in cui la maggior parte dei paesi sta riducendo l’ammontare dei fondi a disposizione, la valutazione dei risultati dei programmi pubblici della ricerca scientifica e tecnologica sta diventando un elemento essenziale per garantire efficacia alla politica della scienza. Mentre la maggior parte degli studi considera l’allocazione delle risorse in r&s come un pr...