This paper models the entrepreneurial process as both creation and discovery composed of an iterative two-step process where entrepreneurs create social networks based on subjective expectations about the future effectiveness of those networks, and then choose the innovation to pursue and map a...

This paper develops a formal context for understanding the role that universities play in facilitating the transmission of knowledge to private-sector firms so as to generate economic growth. To the degree the university seeks to act as a complement to private-sector firm-with-firm collaborative...

Entrepreneurship involves innovation and uncertainty. We outline a theory of entrepreneurship, which highlights the importance of social networks in promoting innovation and reducing uncertainty. Our findings suggest that this “social” aspect of entrepreneurship increases the probability of...

Economic development practitioners and scholars recognize the link between universities and regional economic development. It is predicated on the spillover of knowledge from universities to commercialization. The literature has focused on the supply side, which involves university research and...

Perception and action describe the entrepreneur as a dynamic figure in economic activity. It follows then that entrepreneurship entails a process that begins with perception and is completed with action. When it comes to places—meaning physical localities—rarely is it the case that the...

Partnerships between universities and industrial firms can play a key role in enhancing competitiveness because they provide a conduit for the spillover of knowledge from the academic organization where knowledge is created to the firm where it is transformed into innovative activity. We set...

The origin of ideas is an important topic to be addressed by eminent disciplinary scholars, and then debated, and then debated, and then debated yet again. Even addressing the narrower topic of the origin of entrepreneurial or innovative ideas is a bold if not presumptuous undertaking. In this...

U.S. technology-based initiatives at the state level continue to emphasize regional economic development and job growth. Many are now also focused on green technologies. This paper describes one such green program, the North Carolina Green Business Fund. Based on an analysis of 24 funded R&D...

There is an extensive literature on the success/failure of firm-funded R&D projects but growing policy interest focuses on publicly-funded R&D projects. Using data from 1,878 Phase II R&D projects funded through the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, of which 624 had been...

University proof of concept centers (PoCCs) are an organizational innovation intended to improve the dissemination and commercialization of new knowledge to industry. During the past 15 years, at least 32 university-affiliated PoCCs have been established at universities within the United States....