Differences in Social Networks between Highly and Medium to Low Innovative Spin-offs: Do They Lead to Different Growth?

University spin-off firms are believed to contribute to innovation of the (regional) economy through entrepreneurship, knowledge transfer and linkages with larger firms. Social networks play a vital role in the early years of spin-off firms, but there is virtually no knowledge on the critical characteristics of these networks, and on differences between highly innovative and medium-to-low innovative spin-offs in this respect. First, we highlight theoretical viewpoints on social network formation, Next, we discuss the methodological aspects of the empirical study. This is followed by a comparative descriptive analysis of social networks and two separate estimations of job growth for highly innovative spin-offs (HIS) and medium-to-low innovative spin-offs (MLIS). The results indicate an overall smaller role of social networks for HIS, as well as a different role of strength of relationships and importance of local partners for HIS compared with MLIS.