Embracing duality in academic spin‐offs: A systematic review and agenda for future research

Abstract

Academic spin‐offs (ASOs), a distinct form of hybrid venture, operate at the intersection of economic (business) and non‐economic (academic) logics. Although traditional literature often portrays these logics as inherently conflicting, emphasizing the trade‐offs ASOs must manage, recent empirical findings challenge this view, suggesting that integrating academic and business logics can be beneficial. This paper presents a systematic review of the ASO literature, leveraging the concept of duality to explore the dynamic interplay between academic and business logics. The duality perspective underscores the importance of considering both complementarities and oppositions between seemingly incompatible logics. By synthesizing existing empirical findings, we propose a framework that clarifies how the oppositions and complementarities between academic and business logics influence ASOs’ academic and business outcomes. Our framework highlights the need for more nuanced, dynamic and multilevel approaches in studying ASOs, offering future research directions that embrace the duality perspective. This integrative view aims to inspire further investigation into hybrid ventures, illustrating how economic and non‐economic logics can jointly foster both non‐economic and economic outcomes.