Exploring the co‑creation‑innovativeness paradox : distance as an ecosystem characteristic of university spin‑offs

Through empirical investigations into university spin-ofs (USOs), we discovered innovativeness benefts derived from maintaining both academia and business partners at a distance. Distance should not be misconstrued as isolation; rather, it emphasises specifc attributes where partners are maintained at arm's length, afecting co-creation. Consequently, this paper explores how distance impacts the co-creation and innovativeness of USOs. It presents a longitudinal case study of a Swedish USO and conceptualises various types of distances, including actor-type, industry, supply-chain, geographical and knowledge-related distances. We explore the interplay between these diferent distance types as antecedents to USOs' innovativeness and co-creation activities. The paper contributes to the existing literature by introducing the concept of distance as a critical characteristic afecting innovativeness and co-creation. By delineating various types of distances, it refnes previous research on the characteristics of frm connections within university and business ecosystems.