Linear and non-linear patterns of internationalisation and funding in academic spin-offs

ABSTRACT Academic spin-offs (ASOs) are typically technologically driven, and their expansion into foreign markets has become a priority for the generation of revenue, thereby recuperating the initial R&D and patent costs over a shorter time frame. However, the literature of how these firms internationalise and what sources they can rely on to obtain the financial resources remains very limited. Two main objectives are proposed in this paper: first, the analysis of whether those relationships that ASOs maintain with various agents to provide financial resources for internationalisation differ between ASOs that have internationalised and those that have not; and second, the study into whether those ASOs that internationalise by following different internationalisation patterns present differences in their agents that provide them with financial resources. From a sample of 173 Spanish ASOs, results of cluster analysis and post-hoc tests indicate that internationalised ASOs rely on financial agents different to those of domestic ASOs. We firstly conclude, that the most representative internationalisation pattern in ASOs is Born Global (BG), through the True Born Global (TBG) and Sporadic Born Global (SBG) sub-patterns. Second, the internationalisation patterns are supported by different financial agents, although governmental institutions and Venture Capital (VC) firms constitute the most relevant agents.