The academic spin-offs and set as social economy enterprises

Abstract

The study deals with the possibilities and constraints facing social economy enterprises (co-operatives and worker societies mainly) to be used for creating Spin-off an academic field. First is a basic approach to the concept of social economy, to further differentiate the companies simply innovative (star-up in Anglo-Saxo terminology) of companies operating a technology or knowledge transferred by a university and in which the partners are researchers at that institution (academic spin-offs). Although both fall into a broad term for Spin-off are not the same. While for companies that develop high technology and rapid development of graduates and colleges students doesn’t exist any problem to establish itself as social economy enterprises, to constitute a formal academic spin-off there are certain legal barriers. Researchers and business associates are often teachers who work full time and exclusively at the university, which prevents, in principle, be continuously performing a work activity or the provision of services in a private entity, which is the core of typical mutual activity of co-operatives and worker societies. Furthermore, if the University participates in the capital of the spin-off constituted, which is the tendency, the benefits of social economy enterprises are not as clear for the public organism which usually prefers to be a partner in a capital company.