Entrepreneurship , University Research , and Growth : European North vs . South Panagiotis

The problem that this chapter tries to solve, is to find the relation between entrepreneurship, university research, and economic growth. The contribution of the present analysis is that, we aim to underline a) the role of university entrepreneurship in economic growth, b) to identify the reasons why this role is underdeveloped in the European South compared to the European North and c) to suggest certain policy measures to exploit university entrepreneurship. More specifically, we propose that the theoretical background of university entrepreneurship is affected by five sectors. The first refers to the entrepreneurship opportunity theory. The second refers to the economies of information and the asymmetric information issues in relation to the transaction costs theory. Additionally it includes the principal agent theory, which provides some considerations on the moral hazard problems of the academics. The third includes the network theory as a part of the social capital theory referring to the terms of academic entrepreneurship activation. The fourth refers to the property rights theory, which can determine the procedures for the transformation of knowledge. Finally, the cultural theoritization could give some lights on the cultural background of university entrepreneurship development. Unfortunately, there are no reliable aggregate data portraying some form of activity for university entrepreneurship. This is why the empirical part of this chapter will cover the entire issue in three stages. Initially, we analyze the relation between the educational system and research activity, then the relation of research activity and research results and finally the relation of research results and academic spin offs. Next, we discuss the relationship between Academic Spin Offs and entrepreneurship. The case study used in the analysis is the comparison of the European South and North, so as to also create empirical images on the issues covered by this chapter.