This article focuses upon the adoption and implementation of United Kingdom government support for third stream business-facing activities in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). The article, concerned with income generation and the creation and application of knowledge beyond the confines of the academy, draws on policy literature and…

This paper discusses the experience of UK doctoral graduates in pursuing entrepreneurial careers: there is evidence that this applies to a substantial number--about 10%--of doctoral graduates. The nature of their experience was explored using 37 interviews with doctoral entrepreneurs. The research was funded by Vitae (www.vitae.ac.uk), an…

Purpose: Although considerable attention in the extant literature has been devoted to knowledge acquisition and transfer within firms, there is a dearth of research on the effectiveness of outside sources of knowledge for technology-based small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, the majority of empirical studies in this area focus on…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine an early articulation of some of the key factors in building capacity and the potential for knowledge exchange (KE) within a small, learning and teaching-oriented organization. Design/methodology/approach: An action research study is planned as a practical enquiry. In common with other action research,…

This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study into spin-out firms established during a five-year period at ten UK universities. The author suggests that merely counting the number of spin-outs formed reveals little about the overall efficiency of technology transfer efforts at universities. Instead, one has also to consider other…