Commercial exploitation of new technologies arising from university research: start-ups and markets for technology

The creation of start‐up firms is an important method of commercializing new technologies arising from R&D at universities and other research institutions. Most research into start‐ups presumes that these firms develop products or services. However, start‐ups may operate through markets for technology by selling or licensing rights to use their technology to other firms – typically established firms – who develop and sell new products or services based on the technology. In this study of 57 public start‐up firms created to commercialize the results of university research, we find evidence that (1) operating through markets for technology is a common approach to commercialization, (2) start‐ups that operate in markets for technology can be effectively distinguished in practice from start‐ups operating through product markets, and (3) there are substantive differences in the business activities of firms depending on whether they operate through product markets or markets for technology.