Partnerships, Configurations and Dynamics in the Creation and Development of SMEs by Researchers

This paper analyses the nature of high-tech firms created by academic researchers and the key factors that lead to their successful evolution. The author bases his remarks on a survey of 250 French high-tech companies with their origins in public research centres. He argues against the stereotypical representation of the academic as a poor entrepreneur and identifies common characteristics and expertise required by academic research workers and managers of high-tech SMEs. He demonstrates that the spin-off companies which have developed most successfully have been those with the greatest ability to bring into play a wide range of resources and skills, working through partnerships and networks, at local, national and international levels.