CNS Seminar

Tuesday, February 25, 2014
2:00
Speaker: 
Jennifer Woolley

Jennifer Lynn Woolley is an Associate Professor of Management at Santa Clara University. Her research focuses on the emergence of firms, industries, and technologies around the world.  One stream of research examines the emergence of nanotechnology entrepreneurship and the infrastructure necessary to support such activity such as government policies, professional conference, knowledge creation and transfer.  A related research stream looks at social entrepreneurship around the world, particularly the areas of social value creation and variation in business models.  Dr. Woolley's research has been published in Organization Science, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and Advances in International Management Research Series.  She has presented her work at many conferences including the Academy of Management, Strategic Management Society, and Corporate Social Responsibility Americas annual conferences.

Spin-off firms originate from several sources such as universities, existing firms, and government research centers.  Thus far, work on spin-off activity has focused on factors that influence the creation and performance of corporate spin-offs, with recent attention on those from universities.  Government laboratory and research center spin-offs have largely been overlooked.  Thus, little is known about the comparative success of the different spin-off types. Using a database of all nanotechnology firms founded between 1981 and 2001, this study examines firm cessation, liquidation, bankruptcy, acquisition, and initial public offering of academic, government, and corporate spin-offs and de novo start-ups.  The data show that lineage does influence outcomes; however, each type of firm origin has different provocative distinctions.  Implications for technology transfer and entrepreneurship are discussed.