Young university spin-off firms' internationalization: The influence of founding teams and networks

Commercialization of inventions urges university spin-off firms to develop networks abroad, particularly if they are active in a small national economy. While it is recognized that young spin-offs are vulnerable due to lack of various resources and capabilities, support in internationalization from the university is rare. We investigate university spin-offs' internationalization using a sample of 105 of such firms in Northwest European countries. In early years, 62 per cent employ international networks, enhanced by capabilities gained in PhD education, participation in market training and innovation experience at practical level, but also (and strongly) by diversity among partners in domestic networks. Subsequent growth leads to a stronger internationalization, mainly derived from early patterns of internationalization, but a good 30 per cent of the spin-offs tend to face problematic situations, namely a shrinking pattern or persistent lack of internationalization. The paper concludes with some challenges for improvement.