Description
On this detailed illustration in relation to fostering student entrepreneurship and university spinoff companies tony bailetti.
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
7 www.timreview.ca
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship
and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
Introduction
Today’s academic institutions are adding economic de-
velopment to their more traditional mandates of teach-
ing and research (Hoskisson et al., 2011:http://tinyurl
.com/3tkdepv; Rothaermel, et al., 2007:http://tinyurl
.com/4xaacr8). Accordingly, the need to foster student
entrepreneurship has become increasingly important
for senior university administrators worldwide.
There is a risk however, that policies fostering entre-
preneurship at a university may miss out on key schol-
arly insights and concrete practical experience. The
literature on student entrepreneurship has grown in
varied directions, making it difficult for universities to
formulate effective policies. Lessons learned from prac-
tical experiences with student entrepreneurs are not
widely available. The research findings and intuitive un-
derstanding around student entrepreneurs can be diffi-
cult to understand for senior university administrators
interested in adopting effective university-wide policy
principles promoting student entrepreneurship for
commercial and social enterprises.
This article focuses on those students who establish
new companies to commercialize opportunities using
knowledge they acquired through their studies at uni-
versity. This article is not concerned about university
students working in projects commissioned by large
companies, nor is it about students who commercialize
A student spinoff company strives to transform knowledge acquired by students into an in-
come-generating business. This article outlines how a university can increase the number
of spinoff companies created by its student entrepreneurs.
Student spinoff companies are of interest to all forward-thinking universities, particularly
those that support research and teaching programs in the field of entrepreneurship. The
spinoff companies provide tangible evidence that students acquire viable entrepreneurial
skills while studying at the university. In addition, student spinoff companies contribute to
regional economic development, commercialize knowledge that otherwise would go un-
developed, help universities attain and expand their core missions, and increase the re-
turn on the investments in university R&D.
University policies developed specifically for student spinoff companies significantly af-
fect the growth potential of such ventures. This article provides a model and a set of prin-
ciples that universities can use to support and increase the number of student
entrepreneurs at their institutions. The model and principles are grounded in research
findings and practical experience. In addition, the article suggests that universities adopt a
results-based management approach to plan and deploy initiatives to support student en-
trepreneurs. The approach is widely used by government agencies interested in increasing
the outcomes from their investments.
Entrepreneurs do more than anybody thinks possible
with less than anybody thinks possible, regardless of the
field in which they work.
John Doerr
Funder of Netscape, Google, and Amazon
“ ”
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
8 www.timreview.ca
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
knowledge by means other than launching new com-
panies (e.g., licensing technology to an established
firm), who commercialize opportunities with know-
ledge acquired from non-university sources, or who are
participants in business plan or idea competitions.
Student spinoff companies can be founded by students
attending programs in any faculty at a university. These
companies operate independently from the university;
they have their own legal, technical, and commercial
structures.
A student spinoff company transforms knowledge that
students acquire at a university into revenues from: i)
new products, services, technology, tools, and solu-
tions; ii) new quality of goods; iii) new methods of pro-
duction; iv) opening new markets; v) securing new
sources of supply of raw materials; and vi) new organiz-
ational forms.
This article proceeds as follows. First, the importance of
student spinoff companies is examined. Second, the
distinct and salient aspects of student entrepreneurs
are identified. Third, a model to increase the level of
student entrepreneurship at a university is introduced.
Fourth, a set of principles anchored around the model
are identified. Fifth, a recommendation is provided to
encourage senior university administrators to use a res-
ults-based management approach to manage their initi-
atives to increase the level of student entrepreneurship.
Conclusions then follow.
Why Are Student Spinoff Companies Import-
ant?
Student spinoff companies are important for at least
five reasons:
1. Student spinoff companies offer concrete proof that
the university from which they emanate is relevant, up-
to-date, and competitive. These proof points attract tal-
ented students, faculty, partners, and donors; generate
private and public sector investment; and strengthen
links to important regional and international networks.
2. They contribute to the economic development of the
region where the university is located. They generate
jobs (including jobs for students and knowledge-intens-
ive jobs), diversify the local economy, satisfy customer
needs, and attract talent and investment.
3. They commercialize knowledge that may otherwise
go undeveloped within the university. Transforming “in
house” knowledge into sellable goods is expensive and
uncertain. Most universities do not have the skills, will-
power, discipline, financial resources, space, and net-
works required to transform university knowledge into
a wide range of commercial goods. In many cases, stu-
dent spinoff companies are required to transform uni-
versity knowledge into market offers, attract capital,
and validate customer value.
4. They help universities accomplish their core mis-
sions of research, teaching, and community develop-
ment. Student spinoffs provide faculty with knowledge
that is useful for educating students, and they increase
awareness of the practical value of undertaking uni-
versity research.
5. They increase the return on government investment
in university R&D. Policy makers and taxpayers are in-
creasingly concerned about the low returns from gov-
ernment investment in university R&D. Michelacci
(2003;http://tinyurl.com/68pvg3e) has shown that,
when the stock of knowledge is high and the amount of
entrepreneurial skill is low, an increase in R&D reduces
economic growth. When entrepreneurial skills at the
university are low, returns on large R&D investments
are also low. In addition to being knowledge-transfer
mechanisms, student spinoff companies increase the
level of entrepreneurial activity at a university, which
then increases the university’s return on its R&D.
What Are the Distinct and Salient Aspects of
Student Entrepreneurs?
Student entrepreneurs use university knowledge to re-
cognize opportunities and develop, launch, and oper-
ate new companies to exploit them. This definition is
consistent with the definitions of entrepreneurship con-
tributed by Shane (2003;http://tinyurl.com/6yy3yqy)
and Hoskisson, Covin, Volberda, and Johnson (2011;http://tinyurl.com/3tkdepv).
There are at least five distinct and salient aspects to stu-
dent entrepreneurs:
1. They use their university education to develop the
three core capabilities that underlie venture creation.
According to Rasmussen and colleagues (2011;http://tinyurl.com/6xdn4cd), these three core capabilit-
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
9 www.timreview.ca
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
ies are: opportunity refinement, resource acquisition,
and venture championing.
2. They rely on the university’s reputation and networks
to reach the credibility thresholds of their ventures.
Rasmussen and colleagues (2011) define the credibility
threshold of a venture as the establishment of an entre-
preneurial team and acquisition of resources required
by the venture.
3. They learn to be more self-reliant than peers carrying
out venture initiatives in large corporations. Unlike cor-
porate venturing, student entrepreneurs learn that they
cannot count on the university to provide them with
the resources they require to develop their ventures. As
a result, they tend to think of resources as tools that
provide them with requisite services rather than feeling
the need to own those resources. Student entrepren-
eurs focus on the applications, not the attributes of the
resources.
4. The quality of their educational experience is very
much influenced by the quality of their entrepreneurial
experience while studying at the university. Student en-
trepreneurs expect more than lectures on entrepreneur-
ship; they expect to interact with faculty who can help
them attain their entrepreneurial-related goals.
5. They use the university to develop weak, strong, and
bridging network ties. Weak ties provide them with new
knowledge and information. Strong ties provide re-
sources, legitimacy, and sensitive information ex-
change. Bridging ties provide market and customer
information as well as capability to expand current cap-
abilities (Hoskisson et al., 2011;http://tinyurl.com/
3tkdepv).
Factors that Affect the Number of Student
Spinoff Companies
Various entrepreneurship theories exist. In this section,
we build on the knowledge-based theory of entrepren-
eurship (Acs et al., 2005:http://tinyurl.com/3q46kzq;
Acs et al., 2009:http://tinyurl.com/3dlctbe) and the
subjectivist theory of entrepreneurship (Mahoney and
Michael, 2005;http://tinyurl.com/42p9fhv) to develop
a model for the purpose of organizing policy principles
to foster the creation of student spinoff companies. Six
constructs were identified as determining the number
of student entrepreneurs in a university at a given time
(dependent variable), as shown in Figure 1 and de-
scribed below:
A and B: Students use university-based knowledge to
develop opportunities within the university. The
Figure 1. Factors that affect the level of student entrepreneurship at a university
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
10 www.timreview.ca
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
amount of knowledge available to students is expressed
as the product of two factors: the total stock of know-
ledge available at the university and the portion of
knowledge that the university allows students to com-
mercialize. If university policy assigns all rights over the
university’s stock of knowledge to students, then the
number of student entrepreneurs launching companies
is likely to increase.
C: When comparing the projected profits from entre-
preneurship to the expected wages from employment
inside or outside the university, the greater the dispar-
ity between profits over wages, the higher the level of
students launching startups.
D: Students need to develop three core entrepreneur-
ship capabilities: identify and refine an opportunity, ac-
quire resources, and champion a venture. The stronger
are the entrepreneurship capabilities of university stu-
dents, the greater is the number of students launching
startups.
E and F: The literature has identified barriers to entre-
preneurship (Shane, 2003;http://tinyurl.com/6yy3yqy),
which can be organized into two categories: university
barriers and regional barriers. University barriers to en-
trepreneurship include lack of social acceptance of stu-
dent entrepreneurs, tensions between academic and
commercial outputs, lack of people with business exper-
ience and commercial skills, and inefficient technology
transfer offices. Regional barriers to entrepreneurship
include regulatory, legal, administrative, employment,
financial, and partnership burdens. For example, in
some regions, student entrepreneurs need one day to re-
gister a company; in other regions, they need 20 weeks.
Some regions require skill qualification or the elabora-
tion of a business plan certified by a business expert at-
testing to the company’s viability. In some regions,
students lack access to bank and trade credit.
Figure 1 illustrates that the number of student entre-
preneurs at a university is positively affected by: i) the
stock of knowledge at the university; ii) the fraction of
stock of knowledge that students can commercialize,
iii) the expected excess of profits from entrepreneur-
ship minus wages from employment, and iv) the stu-
dents’ entrepreneurial capabilities. It also illustrates
that the higher the university and regional barriers to
entrepreneurship, the lower the number of student en-
trepreneurs.
Principles to Increase the Number of Stu-
dent Spinoff Companies
Table 1 provides principles that can be used to develop
university policies for increasing the number of spinoff
companies created by university students. These prin-
ciples are organized around the six factors illustrated in
Figure 1.
The principles provided in this section link the descript-
ive nature of scientific research with the action-ori-
ented nature of policy-making practices, as advocated
by proponents of the science-based approach (Romme
and Endenburg, 2006;http://tinyurl.com/6aowwcz).
These principles use practical experience gained help-
ing graduate students at Carleton University launch
their businesses to expand on the principles reported
by van Burg, Romme, Gilsing and Reymen (2008;http://tinyurl.com/3v3787c) and Gilsing, van Burg and
Romme (2010;http://tinyurl.com/3w7s4q3).
A Results-Based Management Approach to
Creating Student Spinoff Companies
Senior university administrators can use a results-
based management approach to increase the level of
student entrepreneurs. The results-based management
approach looks beyond investment in activities and
outputs, focusing on specific results of investments (Ca-
nadian International Development Agency, 2008;http://tinyurl.com/3jy985q). With this type of ap-
proach, the use of three tools to manage initiatives in
fostering the creation of students’ spinoff companies
may prove quite helpful. These tools include: i) a logic
model; ii) a performance measurement framework; and
iii) an investment risk management template. Examples
of the three tools used by the Canadian International
Development Agency can be accessed here:http://tiny
url.com/3lnnde6
The logic model illustrates the logical relationships
between inputs, activities, outputs, immediate out-
comes, intermediate outcomes, and final outcome of a
university initiative to increase its number of student
entrepreneurs. The inputs, activities, and outputs ad-
dress the “how” of the initiative, whereas the immedi-
ate, intermediate, and final outcomes provide the
actual “changes” that take place as a result of investing
in the initiative.
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
11 www.timreview.ca
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
Table 1. Principles to foster student entrepreneurship at a university
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
12 www.timreview.ca
About the Author
Tony Bailetti is an Associate Professor in the Sprott
School of Business and the Department of Systems
and Computer Engineering at Carleton University,
Ottawa, Canada. Professor Bailetti is the Director of
Carleton University's Technology Innovation Man-
agement program. His research, teaching, and com-
munity contributions support international
co-innovation, technical entrepreneurship, and re-
gional economic development.
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
A university can use the performance measurement
framework to prepare and implement a plan that sys-
tematically collects relevant data over the lifetime of
the student spinoff creation initiative and to demon-
strate progress made in achieving expected results.
The investment risk register outlines the operational,
financial, developmental, and reputational risks of a
university initiative to increase numbers of student en-
trepreneurs and defines the corresponding risk re-
sponse strategies.
Conclusions
Today’s universities are adding economic development
to their teaching and research mandates. Fostering stu-
dent entrepreneurship for commercial and social pur-
poses therefore has become increasingly important for
senior university administrators worldwide.
We all face the challenge to do right for our student en-
trepreneurs and institutionalize the pertinent processes
and values required to support the creation of their
companies.
Citation: Bailetti, T. 2011. Fostering Student
Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies.
Technology Innovation Management Review. October
2011: 7-12.
doc_113689216.pdf
On this detailed illustration in relation to fostering student entrepreneurship and university spinoff companies tony bailetti.
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
7 www.timreview.ca
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship
and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
Introduction
Today’s academic institutions are adding economic de-
velopment to their more traditional mandates of teach-
ing and research (Hoskisson et al., 2011:http://tinyurl
.com/3tkdepv; Rothaermel, et al., 2007:http://tinyurl
.com/4xaacr8). Accordingly, the need to foster student
entrepreneurship has become increasingly important
for senior university administrators worldwide.
There is a risk however, that policies fostering entre-
preneurship at a university may miss out on key schol-
arly insights and concrete practical experience. The
literature on student entrepreneurship has grown in
varied directions, making it difficult for universities to
formulate effective policies. Lessons learned from prac-
tical experiences with student entrepreneurs are not
widely available. The research findings and intuitive un-
derstanding around student entrepreneurs can be diffi-
cult to understand for senior university administrators
interested in adopting effective university-wide policy
principles promoting student entrepreneurship for
commercial and social enterprises.
This article focuses on those students who establish
new companies to commercialize opportunities using
knowledge they acquired through their studies at uni-
versity. This article is not concerned about university
students working in projects commissioned by large
companies, nor is it about students who commercialize
A student spinoff company strives to transform knowledge acquired by students into an in-
come-generating business. This article outlines how a university can increase the number
of spinoff companies created by its student entrepreneurs.
Student spinoff companies are of interest to all forward-thinking universities, particularly
those that support research and teaching programs in the field of entrepreneurship. The
spinoff companies provide tangible evidence that students acquire viable entrepreneurial
skills while studying at the university. In addition, student spinoff companies contribute to
regional economic development, commercialize knowledge that otherwise would go un-
developed, help universities attain and expand their core missions, and increase the re-
turn on the investments in university R&D.
University policies developed specifically for student spinoff companies significantly af-
fect the growth potential of such ventures. This article provides a model and a set of prin-
ciples that universities can use to support and increase the number of student
entrepreneurs at their institutions. The model and principles are grounded in research
findings and practical experience. In addition, the article suggests that universities adopt a
results-based management approach to plan and deploy initiatives to support student en-
trepreneurs. The approach is widely used by government agencies interested in increasing
the outcomes from their investments.
Entrepreneurs do more than anybody thinks possible
with less than anybody thinks possible, regardless of the
field in which they work.
John Doerr
Funder of Netscape, Google, and Amazon
“ ”
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
8 www.timreview.ca
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
knowledge by means other than launching new com-
panies (e.g., licensing technology to an established
firm), who commercialize opportunities with know-
ledge acquired from non-university sources, or who are
participants in business plan or idea competitions.
Student spinoff companies can be founded by students
attending programs in any faculty at a university. These
companies operate independently from the university;
they have their own legal, technical, and commercial
structures.
A student spinoff company transforms knowledge that
students acquire at a university into revenues from: i)
new products, services, technology, tools, and solu-
tions; ii) new quality of goods; iii) new methods of pro-
duction; iv) opening new markets; v) securing new
sources of supply of raw materials; and vi) new organiz-
ational forms.
This article proceeds as follows. First, the importance of
student spinoff companies is examined. Second, the
distinct and salient aspects of student entrepreneurs
are identified. Third, a model to increase the level of
student entrepreneurship at a university is introduced.
Fourth, a set of principles anchored around the model
are identified. Fifth, a recommendation is provided to
encourage senior university administrators to use a res-
ults-based management approach to manage their initi-
atives to increase the level of student entrepreneurship.
Conclusions then follow.
Why Are Student Spinoff Companies Import-
ant?
Student spinoff companies are important for at least
five reasons:
1. Student spinoff companies offer concrete proof that
the university from which they emanate is relevant, up-
to-date, and competitive. These proof points attract tal-
ented students, faculty, partners, and donors; generate
private and public sector investment; and strengthen
links to important regional and international networks.
2. They contribute to the economic development of the
region where the university is located. They generate
jobs (including jobs for students and knowledge-intens-
ive jobs), diversify the local economy, satisfy customer
needs, and attract talent and investment.
3. They commercialize knowledge that may otherwise
go undeveloped within the university. Transforming “in
house” knowledge into sellable goods is expensive and
uncertain. Most universities do not have the skills, will-
power, discipline, financial resources, space, and net-
works required to transform university knowledge into
a wide range of commercial goods. In many cases, stu-
dent spinoff companies are required to transform uni-
versity knowledge into market offers, attract capital,
and validate customer value.
4. They help universities accomplish their core mis-
sions of research, teaching, and community develop-
ment. Student spinoffs provide faculty with knowledge
that is useful for educating students, and they increase
awareness of the practical value of undertaking uni-
versity research.
5. They increase the return on government investment
in university R&D. Policy makers and taxpayers are in-
creasingly concerned about the low returns from gov-
ernment investment in university R&D. Michelacci
(2003;http://tinyurl.com/68pvg3e) has shown that,
when the stock of knowledge is high and the amount of
entrepreneurial skill is low, an increase in R&D reduces
economic growth. When entrepreneurial skills at the
university are low, returns on large R&D investments
are also low. In addition to being knowledge-transfer
mechanisms, student spinoff companies increase the
level of entrepreneurial activity at a university, which
then increases the university’s return on its R&D.
What Are the Distinct and Salient Aspects of
Student Entrepreneurs?
Student entrepreneurs use university knowledge to re-
cognize opportunities and develop, launch, and oper-
ate new companies to exploit them. This definition is
consistent with the definitions of entrepreneurship con-
tributed by Shane (2003;http://tinyurl.com/6yy3yqy)
and Hoskisson, Covin, Volberda, and Johnson (2011;http://tinyurl.com/3tkdepv).
There are at least five distinct and salient aspects to stu-
dent entrepreneurs:
1. They use their university education to develop the
three core capabilities that underlie venture creation.
According to Rasmussen and colleagues (2011;http://tinyurl.com/6xdn4cd), these three core capabilit-
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
9 www.timreview.ca
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
ies are: opportunity refinement, resource acquisition,
and venture championing.
2. They rely on the university’s reputation and networks
to reach the credibility thresholds of their ventures.
Rasmussen and colleagues (2011) define the credibility
threshold of a venture as the establishment of an entre-
preneurial team and acquisition of resources required
by the venture.
3. They learn to be more self-reliant than peers carrying
out venture initiatives in large corporations. Unlike cor-
porate venturing, student entrepreneurs learn that they
cannot count on the university to provide them with
the resources they require to develop their ventures. As
a result, they tend to think of resources as tools that
provide them with requisite services rather than feeling
the need to own those resources. Student entrepren-
eurs focus on the applications, not the attributes of the
resources.
4. The quality of their educational experience is very
much influenced by the quality of their entrepreneurial
experience while studying at the university. Student en-
trepreneurs expect more than lectures on entrepreneur-
ship; they expect to interact with faculty who can help
them attain their entrepreneurial-related goals.
5. They use the university to develop weak, strong, and
bridging network ties. Weak ties provide them with new
knowledge and information. Strong ties provide re-
sources, legitimacy, and sensitive information ex-
change. Bridging ties provide market and customer
information as well as capability to expand current cap-
abilities (Hoskisson et al., 2011;http://tinyurl.com/
3tkdepv).
Factors that Affect the Number of Student
Spinoff Companies
Various entrepreneurship theories exist. In this section,
we build on the knowledge-based theory of entrepren-
eurship (Acs et al., 2005:http://tinyurl.com/3q46kzq;
Acs et al., 2009:http://tinyurl.com/3dlctbe) and the
subjectivist theory of entrepreneurship (Mahoney and
Michael, 2005;http://tinyurl.com/42p9fhv) to develop
a model for the purpose of organizing policy principles
to foster the creation of student spinoff companies. Six
constructs were identified as determining the number
of student entrepreneurs in a university at a given time
(dependent variable), as shown in Figure 1 and de-
scribed below:
A and B: Students use university-based knowledge to
develop opportunities within the university. The
Figure 1. Factors that affect the level of student entrepreneurship at a university
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
10 www.timreview.ca
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
amount of knowledge available to students is expressed
as the product of two factors: the total stock of know-
ledge available at the university and the portion of
knowledge that the university allows students to com-
mercialize. If university policy assigns all rights over the
university’s stock of knowledge to students, then the
number of student entrepreneurs launching companies
is likely to increase.
C: When comparing the projected profits from entre-
preneurship to the expected wages from employment
inside or outside the university, the greater the dispar-
ity between profits over wages, the higher the level of
students launching startups.
D: Students need to develop three core entrepreneur-
ship capabilities: identify and refine an opportunity, ac-
quire resources, and champion a venture. The stronger
are the entrepreneurship capabilities of university stu-
dents, the greater is the number of students launching
startups.
E and F: The literature has identified barriers to entre-
preneurship (Shane, 2003;http://tinyurl.com/6yy3yqy),
which can be organized into two categories: university
barriers and regional barriers. University barriers to en-
trepreneurship include lack of social acceptance of stu-
dent entrepreneurs, tensions between academic and
commercial outputs, lack of people with business exper-
ience and commercial skills, and inefficient technology
transfer offices. Regional barriers to entrepreneurship
include regulatory, legal, administrative, employment,
financial, and partnership burdens. For example, in
some regions, student entrepreneurs need one day to re-
gister a company; in other regions, they need 20 weeks.
Some regions require skill qualification or the elabora-
tion of a business plan certified by a business expert at-
testing to the company’s viability. In some regions,
students lack access to bank and trade credit.
Figure 1 illustrates that the number of student entre-
preneurs at a university is positively affected by: i) the
stock of knowledge at the university; ii) the fraction of
stock of knowledge that students can commercialize,
iii) the expected excess of profits from entrepreneur-
ship minus wages from employment, and iv) the stu-
dents’ entrepreneurial capabilities. It also illustrates
that the higher the university and regional barriers to
entrepreneurship, the lower the number of student en-
trepreneurs.
Principles to Increase the Number of Stu-
dent Spinoff Companies
Table 1 provides principles that can be used to develop
university policies for increasing the number of spinoff
companies created by university students. These prin-
ciples are organized around the six factors illustrated in
Figure 1.
The principles provided in this section link the descript-
ive nature of scientific research with the action-ori-
ented nature of policy-making practices, as advocated
by proponents of the science-based approach (Romme
and Endenburg, 2006;http://tinyurl.com/6aowwcz).
These principles use practical experience gained help-
ing graduate students at Carleton University launch
their businesses to expand on the principles reported
by van Burg, Romme, Gilsing and Reymen (2008;http://tinyurl.com/3v3787c) and Gilsing, van Burg and
Romme (2010;http://tinyurl.com/3w7s4q3).
A Results-Based Management Approach to
Creating Student Spinoff Companies
Senior university administrators can use a results-
based management approach to increase the level of
student entrepreneurs. The results-based management
approach looks beyond investment in activities and
outputs, focusing on specific results of investments (Ca-
nadian International Development Agency, 2008;http://tinyurl.com/3jy985q). With this type of ap-
proach, the use of three tools to manage initiatives in
fostering the creation of students’ spinoff companies
may prove quite helpful. These tools include: i) a logic
model; ii) a performance measurement framework; and
iii) an investment risk management template. Examples
of the three tools used by the Canadian International
Development Agency can be accessed here:http://tiny
url.com/3lnnde6
The logic model illustrates the logical relationships
between inputs, activities, outputs, immediate out-
comes, intermediate outcomes, and final outcome of a
university initiative to increase its number of student
entrepreneurs. The inputs, activities, and outputs ad-
dress the “how” of the initiative, whereas the immedi-
ate, intermediate, and final outcomes provide the
actual “changes” that take place as a result of investing
in the initiative.
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
11 www.timreview.ca
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
Table 1. Principles to foster student entrepreneurship at a university
Technology Innovation Management Review October 2011
12 www.timreview.ca
About the Author
Tony Bailetti is an Associate Professor in the Sprott
School of Business and the Department of Systems
and Computer Engineering at Carleton University,
Ottawa, Canada. Professor Bailetti is the Director of
Carleton University's Technology Innovation Man-
agement program. His research, teaching, and com-
munity contributions support international
co-innovation, technical entrepreneurship, and re-
gional economic development.
Fostering Student Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies
Tony Bailetti
A university can use the performance measurement
framework to prepare and implement a plan that sys-
tematically collects relevant data over the lifetime of
the student spinoff creation initiative and to demon-
strate progress made in achieving expected results.
The investment risk register outlines the operational,
financial, developmental, and reputational risks of a
university initiative to increase numbers of student en-
trepreneurs and defines the corresponding risk re-
sponse strategies.
Conclusions
Today’s universities are adding economic development
to their teaching and research mandates. Fostering stu-
dent entrepreneurship for commercial and social pur-
poses therefore has become increasingly important for
senior university administrators worldwide.
We all face the challenge to do right for our student en-
trepreneurs and institutionalize the pertinent processes
and values required to support the creation of their
companies.
Citation: Bailetti, T. 2011. Fostering Student
Entrepreneurship and University Spinoff Companies.
Technology Innovation Management Review. October
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