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Understanding the role of venture capitalists in knowledge dissemination in high-technology agglomerations. A case study of the University of Southampton spin-off cluster

Understanding the role of venture capitalists in knowledge dissemination in high-technology agglomerations. A case study of the University of Southampton spin-off cluster
Understanding the role of venture capitalists in knowledge dissemination in high-technology agglomerations. A case study of the University of Southampton spin-off cluster
This project examines the role of venture capitalists (VCs) as disseminators of knowledge in the cluster of high-technology businesses that have spun off from research undertaken at the University of Southampton UK. The analysis was inspired by work of Zook on the Internet industry in the San Francisco Bay area of the US. This research suggested that it was not just the amount of venture capital that was available in the region that led to its prominence but also the technical and commercial acumen on the part of the local VCs that gave their investees a key advantage in the Internet industry. In contrast, this study of Southampton spin-outs found no equivalent cluster-based infrastructure spreading technical knowledge. The knowledge spread by UK VCs tended to consist of business advice, the evaluation of commercial strategy and the recruitment and scrutiny of key company personnel. Despite many recent initiatives in the UK, many start-up firms reported a relative shortage of experienced early-stage investors who were willing and able to act as ‘company builders’. The results suggest that while investors in the Southampton case provide valuable general business and commercial knowledge, there is little evidence that they supply specialist and tacit knowledge via strong relational partnerships. In the context of some of the difficulties and ambiguities pertaining to spin-out experiences with venture capital, the paper documents how a University has turned to an institutionalised partnership with an intellectual property commercialisation firm
venture capital, information asymmetry, knowledge transfer, regional innovation netwrks, university spin-outs
1369-1066
311-333
Pinch, Steven
39982453-bdf8-4686-8018-b5b8b2030c6a
Sunley, Peter
a3efb579-965f-4f39-812e-9e07caf15afd
Pinch, Steven
39982453-bdf8-4686-8018-b5b8b2030c6a
Sunley, Peter
a3efb579-965f-4f39-812e-9e07caf15afd

Pinch, Steven and Sunley, Peter (2009) Understanding the role of venture capitalists in knowledge dissemination in high-technology agglomerations. A case study of the University of Southampton spin-off cluster. Venture Capital, 11 (4), 311-333. (doi:10.1080/13691060902972885).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This project examines the role of venture capitalists (VCs) as disseminators of knowledge in the cluster of high-technology businesses that have spun off from research undertaken at the University of Southampton UK. The analysis was inspired by work of Zook on the Internet industry in the San Francisco Bay area of the US. This research suggested that it was not just the amount of venture capital that was available in the region that led to its prominence but also the technical and commercial acumen on the part of the local VCs that gave their investees a key advantage in the Internet industry. In contrast, this study of Southampton spin-outs found no equivalent cluster-based infrastructure spreading technical knowledge. The knowledge spread by UK VCs tended to consist of business advice, the evaluation of commercial strategy and the recruitment and scrutiny of key company personnel. Despite many recent initiatives in the UK, many start-up firms reported a relative shortage of experienced early-stage investors who were willing and able to act as ‘company builders’. The results suggest that while investors in the Southampton case provide valuable general business and commercial knowledge, there is little evidence that they supply specialist and tacit knowledge via strong relational partnerships. In the context of some of the difficulties and ambiguities pertaining to spin-out experiences with venture capital, the paper documents how a University has turned to an institutionalised partnership with an intellectual property commercialisation firm

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More information

Published date: October 2009
Keywords: venture capital, information asymmetry, knowledge transfer, regional innovation netwrks, university spin-outs

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 73531
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/73531
ISSN: 1369-1066
PURE UUID: 57ec93d7-b53a-4dc3-b511-1838d5faf8d0
ORCID for Peter Sunley: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4803-5299

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 16 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:48

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