Title: Academic spin-outs: the journey from idea to credible proposition – a combination of knowledge exchange, knowledge transfer and knowledge translation

Authors: Julian C. Sulej, D. Jane Bower

Addresses: Centre for Enterprise Management, Main Campus, University of Dundee, DD1 4HN, UK. ' Centre for Enterprise Management, Main Campus, University of Dundee, UK

Abstract: A key entrepreneurial activity in recent times, in relation to promoting the effectiveness of intellectual property exploitation and knowledge/technology transfer, has been the increased focus on and the activity related to the creation of spin-out companies from universities. This paper describes and explores an innovative and highly successful process (The Fellowship Support Programme or FSP) that has been used in Scotland to facilitate the transfer of academics from a research-based environment to the entrepreneurial business world, and discusses the implications for policy and underlying structures in relation to knowledge acquisition, knowledge transfer and knowledge translation, with a view to providing new research directions as well as offering a potential model for facilitating the process of academic spin-outs and new wealth creation and entrepreneurship in technology-based industries.

Keywords: academic entrepreneurs; university spin-outs; knowledge transfer; knowledge acquisition; knowledge translation; technology transfer; innovation; academic spin-offs; entrepreneurship; knowledge management; KM; Scotland; fellowship support programme; new wealth creation; intellectual property exploitation; technology spin-outs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKMS.2006.008847

International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 2006 Vol.1 No.1/2, pp.90 - 102

Published online: 31 Jan 2006 *

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