Effects of the quality of science on the initial public offering of university spinoffs: evidence from Japan

The systematic application of science plays a critical role in innovation, and universities are the largest source of scientific knowledge. This makes university knowledge transfer critical to the growth of knowledge-based economies. Academic entrepreneurship is a promising route for university knowledge spillover, and the creation of university spinoffs (USOs) has been supported by the national and local governments in Japan. Against a backdrop of recent findings suggesting that the quality of science signals growth potential of USOs, this study examines the relationship between the quality of scientific publications authored by university-based scientists affiliated with USOs and the probability of the firm owner intending the initial public offering. A national government’s USO database combined with Elsevier’s SciVal was analyzed. Estimated random-effects logistic regression models show that citation impact matters more than publication count. Meanwhile, field-weighted citation impact indicators do not exhibit significant effects. Moreover, comparison between USOs that exclusively aim to commercialize university patents and those defined by non-technological aspects emphasizes the heterogeneity in growth strategy among USOs.