Exploring the Networking Characteristics of New Venture Founding Teams : A Study of Italian Academic Spin-Offs

This paper deals with newly established ventures and their relations with external agents. The founding teams' intention to set up relations with external agents and their frequency of interaction with external agents are addressed as two characteristics that are likely to lead to the success of academic spin-off companies. Empirical analysis is based on a data set of 40 Italian academic spin-offs. The external agents who are most likely to have interactions with academic spin-off companies are first identified. Two research hypotheses are then put forward: a) that the intention of the founding teams to set up relations with external agents is influenced by the degree of articulation of roles and the completeness of the founding teams; b) that the founding teams' frequency of interaction with external agents is influenced by the frequency of interaction with external agents of the research groups of origin and by their scientific and technological excellence. Some remarks are then made on the role that universities play in helping new ventures to set up relations with external agents