This paper deals with the role of the State Owned enterprises (SOEs) in innovation processes. Only a few studies focus on the contribution SOEs as companies might give to produce new knowledge and technological innovation. We argue, however, that SOEs are a pillar of the innovation process and we explore conditions that can make SOEs very effective. Through two in-depth case studies in two different industries (STMicroelectronics in the semiconductor and Thales Alenia Space in the space industry) we illustrate how SOEs can contribute to innovation by exploring new opportunities and recombining different sources of knowledge. We highlight the conditions that can make exploration and recombination possible. We also highlight the ability of the two companies to change their boundaries through a continuous wave of agreements, mergers and acquisitions. This way, they were able to expand beyond their domains in a way that matched the evolution of their original industries.

This paper aims to explore a mechanism of institutional intermediation to sustain public procurement of innovation. By exploring the development of innovative solutions for telecommunications satellites in Italy, this study proposes an analytical view on the role of supporting institutions in public procurement of innovation and discusses the relation between the source of public demand and the contracting companies. Eventually, it argues that a public agency can manage funds, coordinate companies’ technological capabilities, and stimulate a sense of cooperation to achieve innovation. The research finds originality in bringing the growing theory concerning public procurement into a dynamic institutional setting to discuss the emerging role of the public competent costumer. The case‐analysis shows how institutionalization of an innovation intermediary enables efficient procurement. Propositions prescribe powerful instruments for dealing with market uncertainty and technological complexity, and find the agency to act as a knowledge intermediary and companies coordinator.

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The subject of this article is the inheritance of the parent university of academic spin-offs through imitation and entrepreneurial learning. Building on a capability perspective, the article adds to the literature on university spin-offs and presents insights into the academic spin-off phenomenon that may be useful in supporting academic entrepreneurship. The study is based on four universities, all located in the metropolitan area of Milan. The authors followed the start-up processes of 74 spin-off ventures over the period 2004–2013, obtaining economic data for 61 of the ventures. The analysis we carried out shows that parent universities influence the industry distribution of spin-offs, since most spin-offs showing a positive performance were concentrated in industries that (1) could benefit from the most advanced research of the parent university and (2) were those in which previous start-ups had also tended to concentrate. Thus, a focus on the parent (university)–progeny (spin-off) dyad as the unit of analysis reveals that the specific capabilities available and previous spin-off experience developed in the university play an important role in facilitating spin-off ventures and influencing new firms’ behaviour in their start-up and development phases.