L’intention de création de spin-offs académiques : le cas des établissements supérieurs bas-normands

In France, the Technology Transfer Offices, located within universities and more generally in higher education institutions, greatly developed over the past fifteen years, both in terms of funding and dedicated human resources. Still, academic spin-offs remain few in number and create few jobs (PHILIPART, 2012). The results are much more convincing in the US (SIEGEL, 2013). Few French academic staff members value their academic work (or even contemplate doing so) by creating companies or more generally by economic valuation including licensing patents or creating partnerships with existing companies (EMIN, 2003). And when they set-up spin-offs, business does not necessarily experience an important development like the Anglo-Saxon "gazelles" (BONNET, LE PAPE, NELSON, 2015). Also, there are not many students who consider the option of creating their own business, even though the numbers are improving thanks to the development of entrepreneurship training programs (BOISSIN, CHOLLET, EMIN, 2009). This study aims to highlight the characteristics at work behind the intention to create academic spin-offs by staff members and doctoral students of Lower-Normandy colleges.