Corporate governance issues are critical in university spin-offs because, since their substantially knowledge and technology-driven nature, investments are characterized by rapid growth and real investment opportunities, affecting innovative activity too. In this view, the paper investigate the role of the board of directors' composition on innovation performance of university spin-offs. Based on a panel sample of 478 Italian university spin-offs, the results show that board size has an inverted-U-shaped relationship with innovation, remarking that not too large boards are more efficient and work better, influencing in a positive way the innovation activity of the spin-off. Regarding the impact of the outside directors, the results seems to invalidate its positive and significant effect on innovation performance. Also the CEO-duality seems to have no influence on the innovative activity. These findings may represent potential indicators of the optimal configuration for board in university spin-offs in order to improve innovation.

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Purpose The purpose of this research is to study the effect of organizational innovation, in terms of the introduction of both new business practices and new methods of organizing workplaces, on firm growth, along with the moderating role of the firm size in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A panel sample of 4,125 Spanish innovative firms taken from the Technological Innovation Panel for the period 2009 to 2014 was analyzed. Two-Step System-Generalized method of moments approach and instrumental variables approach with two-stage least squares have been used. Findings The findings remark the positive effect of organizational innovation on firm growth in case firms introduce both new business practices and new methods of organizing workplaces. Furthermore, the empirical evidences show that the firm size has a role, although partial, in moderating negatively the effect of introducing both new business practices and new methods of organizing workplaces on firm growth. Originality/value The study adds some new theoretical insights and empirical evidences into the literature related to the inertia theory in the perspective of the population ecology, incorporating it with the effect of firm size. Furthermore, the study may represent a further part of the complex literature puzzle that links organizational innovation to firm growth, and the inclusion of the moderating role of the firm size will partially provide a deeper understanding of this link.

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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of human capital related to gender and nationality diversity in boards of directors on the innovation of university spin-offs (USOs) in their entrepreneurial ecosystem. Following the intellectual capital (IC) framework and the resource dependence theory, upper echelons theory and critical mass theory, it hypothesizes that the relationship between board diversity and USOs’ firm innovation is non-linear.Design/methodology/approachTo test the research hypotheses empirically, a sample of 827 Italian USOs over the period 2009–2018 was analyzed using zero-inflated Poisson regression modeling. A robustness test was also performed.FindingsGender obstacles remain in USOs’ entrepreneurial ecosystem, with little involvement of women in boards, and the benefits of human capital for firm innovation emerge with increased female representation. Nevertheless, a few foreign-born directors embody valued IC in terms of human capital from an internationally linked entrepreneurial ecosystem, which decreases with more foreign-born directors due to communication costs and coordination problems.Research limitations/implicationsThe emerging non-linear relationships imply that gender- and nationality-diverse boards in USOs constitute critical human capital factors boosting the devolvement of entrepreneurial processes, in terms of firm innovation, in university entrepreneurial ecosystems.Originality/valueThis study contributes significantly to the move from traditional corporate governance analysis through an IC framework, fostering an understanding of the role of human capital and its diversity determinants in spurring firm innovation among USOs considering the university entrepreneurial ecosystem.