Academic spin-off emergence as an organization-embedded dynamic: Synthesis and research questions from a systematic literature review

Academic spin-offs drive regional development through science-based innovation, yet the knowledge of their emergence is still plagued by contradictory findings due to its poor grounding in theory. This paper, through a systematic literature review, re-reads spin-off emergence as an organization-embedded dynamic using the lens of social information processing theory.

Based on a thematic analysis that returns four conceptual themes (entrepreneurial university, institutional factors, human capital, and cognitive and psychological factors) a multi-level conceptual framework is proposed showing that both individual-level factors and elements of the university context have an effect, although in different ways, on the spin-off emergence dynamics. In recognizing spin-off formation as a complex and organization-embedded process of venture emergence, we further emphasize the need to complement driver identification with complexity-sensitive perspectives on organizational novelty.

Building on these findings, we propose a research agenda emphasizing three open issues: (i) understanding the drivers of spin-off emergence, (ii) unpacking the processual perspectives on spin-off emergence, and (iii) disentangling the interplay between individual-level and university-level factors. Theoretical contributions to academic entrepreneurship and practical implications for university policy are discussed.