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Sustainability orientation of academic spinoffs: does it pay?

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Title: Sustainability orientation of academic spinoffs: does it pay?
Authors: Civera, Alice1 (AUTHOR) alice.civera@unibg.it, Meoli, Michele1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Small Business Economics. Oct2025, Vol. 65 Issue 3, p1727-1753. 27p.
Subject Terms: *INFORMATION economy, *ENTREPRENEURSHIP, *PROFITABILITY, *BUSINESS ecosystems, SUSTAINABILITY, SOCIAL sustainability, UNIVERSITY research
Abstract: The sustainability orientation of entrepreneurial companies is crucial for addressing the sustainability challenges of our time. However, research on the role of sustainability in enhancing performance, as well as the factors enabling sustainability, has been inconclusive thus far. Our study, by relying on 639 Italian academic spinoffs from 59 public universities over the period 2006–2019, demonstrates the relevance of disentangling the role of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, as they contribute differently to economic performance. Economic sustainability enhances performance, environmental sustainability hinders it, and social sustainability does not play any role. However, the sustainability orientation of entrepreneurial ecosystems does play a role. University research and local awareness and support in terms of environmental sustainability can contribute to overcoming the negative effects of environmental sustainability on performance. Similarly, university research and local awareness and support in terms of economic sustainability reinforce the positive effects of economic sustainability on performance. Plain English Summary: Although there is relevance of sustainable entrepreneurship in addressing grand societal issues, there are many aspects that still need to be investigated. We focus on academic entrepreneurship in the form of academic spinoffs, as well as their entrepreneurial ecosystems. By relying on 639 Italian academic spinoffs from 59 public universities over the period 2006–2019, we demonstrate that different sustainability dimensions lead to different growth performance and that each sustainability dimension can be enabled or hindered by the sustainability of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Namely, as far as the orientation of the spinoff itself is concerned, environmental sustainability negatively affects growth, while a positive and statistically significant effect is observed for economic sustainability. However, the negative effects of environmental sustainability can be mitigated by environmental sustainability at the university and context levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Business Source Index
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Abstract:The sustainability orientation of entrepreneurial companies is crucial for addressing the sustainability challenges of our time. However, research on the role of sustainability in enhancing performance, as well as the factors enabling sustainability, has been inconclusive thus far. Our study, by relying on 639 Italian academic spinoffs from 59 public universities over the period 2006–2019, demonstrates the relevance of disentangling the role of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, as they contribute differently to economic performance. Economic sustainability enhances performance, environmental sustainability hinders it, and social sustainability does not play any role. However, the sustainability orientation of entrepreneurial ecosystems does play a role. University research and local awareness and support in terms of environmental sustainability can contribute to overcoming the negative effects of environmental sustainability on performance. Similarly, university research and local awareness and support in terms of economic sustainability reinforce the positive effects of economic sustainability on performance. Plain English Summary: Although there is relevance of sustainable entrepreneurship in addressing grand societal issues, there are many aspects that still need to be investigated. We focus on academic entrepreneurship in the form of academic spinoffs, as well as their entrepreneurial ecosystems. By relying on 639 Italian academic spinoffs from 59 public universities over the period 2006–2019, we demonstrate that different sustainability dimensions lead to different growth performance and that each sustainability dimension can be enabled or hindered by the sustainability of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Namely, as far as the orientation of the spinoff itself is concerned, environmental sustainability negatively affects growth, while a positive and statistically significant effect is observed for economic sustainability. However, the negative effects of environmental sustainability can be mitigated by environmental sustainability at the university and context levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:0921898X
DOI:10.1007/s11187-025-01070-x