University incubator as catalyst of resources for academic spin-offs. The case of ARCA Consortium

Today we can observe an increasing proliferation of new academic spin-off initiatives aimed to transfer knowledge from the university to the market. Due to their strategic role in enhancing the development of technological innovation, academic spin-offs can attain high levels of social performance and consonance with their environment. At the same time, they must overcome many difficulties if they are to achieve a high level of financial performance and growth. They are often considered to be mere vehicles for the transmission of knowledge, implying that their entrepreneurial potential is not fully exploited. According to the Resource Based View (RBV) the competitive disadvantage of an academic spin-off is due to a lack of resources. This paper will join this stream of research in order to analyze the financial performance of academic spin-offs. We examine the case of Arca Consortium’s incubator, established by the University of Palermo, and of the academic spin-offs it has supported and continues to assist. The empirical analysis, based on two linear regression models, is performed based on 19 case studies of spin-offs created between 2007 and 2009 by academicians of the University of Palermo.