Recruitment Processes and Capability Development in Academic Spin-Offs: An Exploratory Work

This work focuses on the influence of external knowledge via recruitment on the development of academic spin-off (ASO) fi rms, that is those businesses that are generated by academic staff and are based on results of research conducted within the university. Given the importance of external knowledge for these fi rms to develop and grow it is important to understand the mechanisms by which such knowledge is internalized and the impact of such knowledge on the fi rms’ strategies and capability development. This work, by means of a multiple case study research, seeks to shed light on the issue with respect to recruitment processes. Results show that hiring managers and researchers from the external environment is a response to some particular situations. The consequences of these recruitment strategies are also analyzed.