1. David Hudson Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada Stoyan Tanev Institute of Technology Innovation Integrative Innovation Management Unit University of Southern Denmark Odense, Denmark 1 Re-inventing collectivism? Using innovation collectives to create and grow new technology firms

2. Introduction Summary of lessons learned from action research program resulting in a model with 10 hypotheses examining university spin-off efficiency. Formation of academic spin-off is conceptualized to be embedded in a collective that includes entrepreneurs and those who help them transform their ideas into ventures. Ten factors organized into two constructs  idea-venture path  collective structure The two constructs are identified as determinants of academic spin-off efficiency. 2

3. Objective Examining the factors that affect academic spin-off efficiency. Action research program including the launching and operation of five collectives that support startup formation over a nine-year period:  Lead to Win 2002 (business creation)  Talent First Network 2002-2006 (OS tech commercialization)  Lead to Win 2009+ (business creation)  Coral CEA 2010+ (Communications Enabled Applications)  1000 KOTS 2011+ (Keystone of the Shelf startups) All five collectives associated with the Technology Innovation Management program at Carleton U 3

4. Action research context Student entrepreneurs engage into collectives for the purpose of transforming their ideas into ventures along a specific idea-spin off path. A collective is comprised of  student entrepreneurs, academics, mentors  individuals who participate in user involvement initiatives  personnel who work for economic development organizations  providers of incubation services and risk capital  company managers. Each student entrepreneur leads a self-organizing team, contributes specific domain knowledge and professional network ties, and interacts with other members of the collective. 4

5. Research model Idea spin off path Product or process  Distinctiveness of offer / operations  Fit with system level opportunity  Proper use of OS technology Learning and acting costs Ties with external groups  # of external groups  Strength of ties 5 Collective structure Diversity  Knowledge  Payoff horizon Stakeholder involvement initiatives Reputation Spin-off efficiency Cost Time

6. Path-related factors - I Distinctiveness Hypothesis 1: The greater the distinctiveness of a venture’s offer or operational process, the higher the probability of academic spin-off efficiency. Fit with system level opportunity Hypothesis 2: The greater the fit of a venture’s offer to a system level opportunity being carried out by the collective, the higher the probability of academic spin-off efficiency. Use of open source technology Hypothesis 3: The greater the extent of proper use of open source technology, the higher the probability of academic spin-off efficiency. 6

7. Path-related factors - II Learning and acting costs Hypothesis 4: The lower the cost of learning from other entrepreneurs and venture stakeholders, the higher the probability of academic spin-off efficiency. Ties with external groups Hypothesis 5: The greater the number of groups that an entrepreneur can access through ties with other members of the collective, the higher the probability of academic spin-off efficiency. Tie strength Hypothesis 6: The stronger the ties between the entrepreneur and members of the collective, the higher the probability of academic spin-off efficiency. 7

8. Collective -related factors - I Knowledge diversity Hypothesis 7: The greater the knowledge diversity of the collective, the higher the probability of academic spin-off efficiency. “Time-to-payoff” diversity Hypothesis 8: The greater the time-to-payoff diversity of the collective, the higher the probability of academic spin-off efficiency. 8

9. Collective -related factors - II Stakeholder interaction Hypothesis 9: The greater the number of stakeholder involvement initiatives in which an entrepreneur can participate to shape and harden his opportunity, the higher the probability of academic spin-off efficiency. Reputation Hypothesis 10: The stronger the reputation of the collective, the higher the probability of academic spin-off efficiency. 9

10. Conclusion Highlighting the importance of the structure of the collective in which the development of an academic spin-off occurs  identifying the collective-related factors expected to increase academic spin-off efficiency Examining the time and cost efficiency over all the phases of the development of an academic spin-off, not just the later phases Focusing on the results of action research carried out over a nine-year period  operating five collectives that focused on the creation of successful ventures 10