Noneconomic public value creation by private ventures: scale development and empirical validation in the academic entrepreneurship context

The Journal of Technology Transfer, vol. 50, pp. 1524–1566

Abstract

Abstract Public value as such and contributions to public value by entrepreneurial universities have been of increasing interest to scholars over the past two decades. However, due to the lack of an adequate measurement scale, scholars have yet to link these research streams properly. While public value research acknowledges the multidimensionality of the construct, academic entrepreneurship research has rather approximated it using different unidimensional economic proxies. As a consequence, there is limited scholarly consensus about public value creation through spin-offs and other academic start-ups. To mitigate this issue and complement existing proxies, our study develops and validates a measure of noneconomic public value creation in the academic entrepreneurship context, capturing the subdimensions of social value creation , customer value creation , and efficient value creation . We employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The initial item pool incorporates relevant prior literature and insights from multiple pretests. Using two comprehensive surveys of academic entrepreneurs from Germany and Austria, we quantitatively confirm the reliability and validity of the final three-dimensional 11-item scale and its applicability to the intended context. Furthermore, we pave the way for future research by examining how the university entrepreneurial climate relates to public value creation.

Authors 4

1. Andrea Greven corresponding Aachen Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group (WIN) – TIME Research Area

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group (WIN) – TIME Research Area, RWTH Aachen University, Kackertstr. 7, 52072, Aachen, Germany

2. Thorsten Beule Aachen Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group (WIN) – TIME Research Area

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group (WIN) – TIME Research Area, RWTH Aachen University, Kackertstr. 7, 52072, Aachen, Germany

3. Denise Fischer

   University of Bonn

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Entrepreneurship, University of Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 172, 53113, Bonn, Germany

4. Malte Brettel Aachen Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group (WIN) – TIME Research Area

   WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Burgplatz 2, 56179, Vallendar, Germany

   Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group (WIN) – TIME Research Area, RWTH Aachen University, Kackertstr. 7, 52072, Aachen, Germany