Tommy Shih

University start-ups are, in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Union (EU) policy setting, viewed as important means to transform scientific advances into innovations, corresponding both to market and societal needs (Mowery & Sampat, 2005; Rider, Hasselberg, & Waluszewski, 2013). The high expectations on the ability to directly transform social and material resources, valuable in an academic research setting, into new products/services to contribute possible value in a business setting are rooted in the so-called 1990s science and innovation policy doctrine, with the OECD as its most prominent advocate (Eklund, 2007; Waluszewski, 2011). The doctrine points to university research as an important but underutilised direct source of innovation for growth and societal welfare. In the wake of this policy regime, a number of measures have been undertaken to stimulate the commercialisation of research results, with the establishment of university start-ups as a key measure.