Creating spinout companies (USOs) from university research is one focus of innovation policy. The phenomenon features in two main fields of enquiry: academic entrepreneurship studies, and literature on academic capitalism and the entrepreneurial university. Studies have explored the academic entrepreneur, the development stages of these nascent ventures, and the tools universities can provide to encourage and assist in the spinout process. This literature is however limited in that it is overwhelmingly concerned with resources, and little is known about how the USO relates to the parent research institution over time. The purpose of this study is therefore to explore social forces in research linked to a USO, and the main research question is: how can a social lens help us to understand some of the forces at play in research commercialisation, specifically through the early development of a USO from a parent research organisation? The case study is based on interviews and observations of university researchers, USO actors, and representatives from state agencies and a multinational corporation involved in a technology demonstration project. The sociologist Robert Park’s concepts of social groups, the individual within the collective, and social forces are used to explore the experiences of actors involved in academic research and industrial development throughout the changing relationship of a research group and USO. Five social forces were identified around the border between academia and industry, based on some of the concepts that seem to inform the actors’ understandings of the case at hand. An exploration of these forces helps to develop an understanding of how actors experience and negotiate various forces, and positions the results of the study in relation to the dominant models in academic entrepreneurship and academic life. Park’s concepts of specialised roles moves the discussion forward by considering how social forces might be handled within research and research commercialisation, and how such forces might in turn motivate the movement of individuals within and out of a particular social group. This discussion leads into the metaphor of the theatre, connected to project management literature, and research commercialisation as a performance by actors to safeguard the collective’s interests.

Spinoffs are an increasing phenomenon on the Swedish stock market. In this report one can read about factors that trigger spinoffs as well as about the short and medium term risk and return that spinoffs yield. I have observed 17 pre-spinoff companies that become 34 post-spinoff companies which continued to be traded on the stock market. For the purpose of the investigation I use time-series regression, and my model is the sin-gle-factor market model. I use this model to estimate the beta and the firm specific factor. Supporting theories are: efficiency, portfolio theory, valuation method and asymmetry all those topics are central parts in a spinoff. From my research I can not prove that spinoffs increase shareholders wealth. That means that the new units created through a spinoff are not more worth than the old corporation as such the new units do not outperform the old conglomerate structures expected return. However, the new units beta is not equal the old conglomerate structures beta, and this may due to change in capital structure. The weighted beta increase in half of the times, as such, it suggests a higher level of debt financing. By comparing the spinoff company and the parent company in the post-spinoff scenario it can be concluded that the company who is performing the best is also the riskier alternative and the spinoff performs better than the parent company in eleven out of seventeen times. There is also a correlation between risk and return - when higher return is observed it also brings higher risk, and it holds true in all samples except one. Further, at group level the spinoff group performs better than the market return and the spinoff group performs on average better than the parent group. Thus, if an outside inves-tor is to invest in either a spinoff company or a parent company one should buy the spinoff company at preferred weight according to the investors risk preferences.

<p>Spinoffs are an increasing phenomenon on the Swedish stock market. In this report one can read about factors that trigger spinoffs as well as about the short and medium term risk and return that spinoffs yield. I have observed 17 pre-spinoff companies that become 34 post-spinoff companies which continued to be traded on the stock market.</p><p>For the purpose of the investigation I use time-series regression, and my model is the sin-gle-factor market model. I use this model to estimate the beta and the firm specific factor. Supporting theories are: efficiency, portfolio theory, valuation method and asymmetry all those topics are central parts in a spinoff.</p><p>From my research I can not prove that spinoffs increase shareholders wealth. That means that the new units created through a spinoff are not more worth than the old corporation as such the new units do not outperform the old conglomerate structures expected return. However, the new units beta is not equal the old conglomerate structures beta, and this may due to change in capital structure. The weighted beta increase in half of the times, as such, it suggests a higher level of debt financing.</p><p>By comparing the spinoff company and the parent company in the post-spinoff scenario it can be concluded that the company who is performing the best is also the riskier alternative and the spinoff performs better than the parent company in eleven out of seventeen times. There is also a correlation between risk and return - when higher return is observed it also brings higher risk, and it holds true in all samples except one.</p><p>Further, at group level the spinoff group performs better than the market return and the spinoff group performs on average better than the parent group. Thus, if an outside inves-tor is to invest in either a spinoff company or a parent company one should buy the spinoff company at preferred weight according to the investors risk preferences.</p>

Empirical findings on knowledge transfers associated with business closures are limited (Hoetkerand Agarwal, 2007), and very few studies examine the search process of individuals and theirsearch for new solutions and ideas (Maggitti et al., 2013). The purpose of this paper is to fill theknowledge gap of knowledge spillovers and idea generation taking place while displacedemployees transition to entrepreneurship after business closure. This paper will examineAstraZeneca’s displaced employees that started their own businesses after AstraZeneca’sresearch and development facilities closed down in Lund (2010) and Södertälje (2012) inSweden. The research questions investigated were: What are the different factors and ideaprocesses that made the displaced employees start their own businesses? To what extent are theentrepreneurs utilizing their knowledge and experience gained at AstraZeneca in their currentbusinesses, and are they using contacts gained while working for AstraZeneca? To answer thesequestions both qualitative and quantitative research method were used in the form of surveys andinterviews. The results of this study showed that a knowledge spillover took place between thenew firms and the closing firm, while previous experience and expertise gained fromAstraZeneca greatly influenced the idea generation that took place amongst the displacedemployees while transitioning into entrepreneurship. Moreover, about 20% of theentrepreneurship was necessity based, whereas 70% were opportunity based. In regards to thetiming of the idea generation process, half of the participants came up with the business ideaafter learning about the closure, while the rest disagreed. Therefore, the idea generation processamongst the participants did not necessary start after the announcement of the displacement.