Sven De Cleyn

This paper introduces the founding angels' (FAs) concept as an emerging subtype of the angel investment model and provides empirical evidence based on 16 case studies in Germany and Switzerland to elucidate the potential of this investment model. FAs join the start up teams of new technology based firms, complementing the scientific members coming mainly from universities and research institutions with business expertise and scientific understanding. They make significantly fewer investments… Show more

This paper introduces the founding angels' (FAs) concept as an emerging subtype of the angel investment model and provides empirical evidence based on 16 case studies in Germany and Switzerland to elucidate the potential of this investment model. FAs join the start up teams of new technology based firms, complementing the scientific members coming mainly from universities and research institutions with business expertise and scientific understanding. They make significantly fewer investments than in the case of business angels (BAs), but because of their very early engagement, they hold more shares and are much more engaged operationally. FAs have more the role of a founder and entrepreneur and less that of an investor because of their early engagement in the venture. They complement BAs and venture capitalists (VCs) and normally support the start-up’s efforts to raise funding. Show less

In many economies, new knowledge and technology creation and transfer towards local entities and new startups have been recognized as catalysts for industry renewal and tools for safeguarding (or even enhancing) a region’s employment and prosperity. This article presents a case study of iMinds, a network organization in Flanders, Belgium. The organization fosters interdisciplinary research in information and communication technologies (ICT) and strongly engages in transferring these new… Show more

In many economies, new knowledge and technology creation and transfer towards local entities and new startups have been recognized as catalysts for industry renewal and tools for safeguarding (or even enhancing) a region’s employment and prosperity. This article presents a case study of iMinds, a network organization in Flanders, Belgium. The organization fosters interdisciplinary research in information and communication technologies (ICT) and strongly engages in transferring these new technologies towards local actors and in creating and supporting new startups. iMinds’ incubation and entrepreneurship programs act as catalysts for open innovation and company startup activities in the Flemish region. Show less

Innovation is nothing new; it has always existed. We cannot say it is something unique to the Digital Age, nor even to the Industrial Revolution. It is a natural way to deal with change. Yet, in recent times, we repeatedly hear said that it is important, if not crucial for organizations to engage in innovation. So, is innovation really that important for our future?

This book is the result of a quest to discover genuine innovation across a wide spectrum of activities: commercial and… Show more

Innovation is nothing new; it has always existed. We cannot say it is something unique to the Digital Age, nor even to the Industrial Revolution. It is a natural way to deal with change. Yet, in recent times, we repeatedly hear said that it is important, if not crucial for organizations to engage in innovation. So, is innovation really that important for our future?

This book is the result of a quest to discover genuine innovation across a wide spectrum of activities: commercial and non-profit, academic and artistic. We wanted to research and report on what innovation looks like in Belgium, whether there is room and support for it, and which direction we could take to safeguard or even improve our standard of living for future generations. These questions are shared concerns for Accenture and iMinds. Both organizations actively foster innovation and the search for new solutions by bringing people and organizations together in collaborative settings. Show less

This book contains the integral PhD dissertation of Sven H. De Cleyn, publicly defended on Friday 6 May 2011 at the University of Antwerp, Faculty of Applied Economics (Belgium). The supervisor of the dissertation is Prof. Dr. Johan Braet.
The study addresses European academic spin-offs and, by mainly focusing on its resources and how these are deployed, analyses the determinants of spin-off survival and success. The main research question is "What characterises the early development of… Show more

This book contains the integral PhD dissertation of Sven H. De Cleyn, publicly defended on Friday 6 May 2011 at the University of Antwerp, Faculty of Applied Economics (Belgium). The supervisor of the dissertation is Prof. Dr. Johan Braet.
The study addresses European academic spin-offs and, by mainly focusing on its resources and how these are deployed, analyses the determinants of spin-off survival and success. The main research question is "What characterises the early development of knowledge-intensive product-oriented academic spin-offs?" The study is based on a unique sample, collected by personal interviews with top managers of 185 academic spin-offs in 9 European countries.
The results contains a number of surprising findings with far-reaching implications for several spin-off stakeholders (e.g. the role of risk capital providers, which turns out not to be so positive in many spin-off cases). Show less

R&D spin-outs can offer an attractive mechanism for increasing the effectiveness and reach of R&D activities while maintaining the focus of the core business. A study of 42 spin-outs in the European pharmaceutical industry reveals the attributes that lead to successful spin-outs and illustrate the possible advantages of spin-outs.

In this paper an economic evaluation of photovoltaic grid connected systems (PVGCS) for companies situated in Flanders (Belgium) is conducted by using a generic Excel model. The model is unique in that it includes the dimension of taxation. This inclusion is required, otherwise the fiscal benefit of using solar panels is not accounted for. The model uses the cash flow projection method. This technique allows the calculation of the following classical evaluation criteria: net present value… Show more

In this paper an economic evaluation of photovoltaic grid connected systems (PVGCS) for companies situated in Flanders (Belgium) is conducted by using a generic Excel model. The model is unique in that it includes the dimension of taxation. This inclusion is required, otherwise the fiscal benefit of using solar panels is not accounted for. The model uses the cash flow projection method. This technique allows the calculation of the following classical evaluation criteria: net present value, internal rate of return, payback period, discounted payback period, profitability index, yield unit cost, yield unit revenue and break-even turnkey cost. Their outcome makes it possible to answer the question whether installing a PVGCS in Flanders is a responsible financial investment for companies. Furthermore, the paper estimates whether the corporate environment is ready for a subsidy legislation change. This change has recently been announced and as such it is possible to gauge whether the current market situation is profitable given future legislation. Show less

The commercialisation of research-based technologies via academic spin-off ventures has obtained increased policy and research attention. Nevertheless, we lack a comprehensive overview of the status of academic entrepreneurship in Europe. This study aimed at overcoming this gap and was carried out by two research groups – one at the University of Technology Dresden (Germany) and the other at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). It is one of the first research efforts that investigates the… Show more

The commercialisation of research-based technologies via academic spin-off ventures has obtained increased policy and research attention. Nevertheless, we lack a comprehensive overview of the status of academic entrepreneurship in Europe. This study aimed at overcoming this gap and was carried out by two research groups – one at the University of Technology Dresden (Germany) and the other at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). It is one of the first research efforts that investigates the diffusion of the academic spin-off phenomenon in Europe. Due to its large scale, both in terms of number of countries as number of organisations addressed, our study offers a good view on the status of academic entrepreneurship through spin-off ventures in Europe. Furthermore, the relatively high response rate combined with additional data obtained from websites resulted in a comprehensive and representative work. We believe that our study provides a good estimate of the total amount of academic spin-off created by European research organisations. Show less

The article aims to give an overview of the main models in the spin-off research field. The main evolution models known in literature will be analyzed. The evolution models will be discussed in increasing order of complexity. However, the existing models will prove to be inadequate to reflect the real-life situation. Therefore, a new integrative model will be discussed in detail, illustrated by using 17 case studies of Belgian academic spinoffs.
The model incorporates the dynamic nature of… Show more

The article aims to give an overview of the main models in the spin-off research field. The main evolution models known in literature will be analyzed. The evolution models will be discussed in increasing order of complexity. However, the existing models will prove to be inadequate to reflect the real-life situation. Therefore, a new integrative model will be discussed in detail, illustrated by using 17 case studies of Belgian academic spinoffs.
The model incorporates the dynamic nature of academic spin-off evolution and the major peripheral aspects. It can be used by practitioners and academics to enhance reproducibility and decision making. Show less

The research domain of innovation and entrepreneurship is relatively young and fragmented. Therefore, no consensus exists on the definition of the main concepts. In a sub-domain of entrepreneurship, this paper intends to both elucidate (the differences between) the concepts of ‘spin-off’ and ‘spin-out’ and, starting from existing literature taxonomies, to integrate several existing spin-off taxonomies, classifications and typologies in order to create a clear and complete framework for further… Show more

The research domain of innovation and entrepreneurship is relatively young and fragmented. Therefore, no consensus exists on the definition of the main concepts. In a sub-domain of entrepreneurship, this paper intends to both elucidate (the differences between) the concepts of ‘spin-off’ and ‘spin-out’ and, starting from existing literature taxonomies, to integrate several existing spin-off taxonomies, classifications and typologies in order to create a clear and complete framework for further research. This way, 10 different ‘ideal’ spin-off and spin-out types will be defined, based on five distinguishing dimensions. These dimensions have been extracted from both theory and practice and relate strongly to the new venture’s behaviour, strategy and performance. The resulting integrated typology will be illustrated in view of its practical and theoretical implications. Show less

Scholar research seems to confirm that the type of funding of a university spin-off venture influences these survival chances. This study aims to investigate whether the basic type of funding used for young university spin-offs influences the survival chances. The reasoning is that screening by a previously independent party such as government agencies, business angels or venture capitalists provides additional evidence on the potential of a project or venture. The preliminary results, based on… Show more

Scholar research seems to confirm that the type of funding of a university spin-off venture influences these survival chances. This study aims to investigate whether the basic type of funding used for young university spin-offs influences the survival chances. The reasoning is that screening by a previously independent party such as government agencies, business angels or venture capitalists provides additional evidence on the potential of a project or venture. The preliminary results, based on 16 case studies with Belgian university spin-offs, seem to confirm that successful application for government subsidies for the development of a technology, product or business increases the likelihood of venture survival. On the other hand, access to risk capital seems not to positively influence survival chances. Show less