Strategic Orientation and New Product Development Performance of Academic Spin-Offs: The Importance of Team Cohesion and Team Heterogeneity

Prior studies have highlighted the importance of team heterogeneity and team cohesion in supporting academic spin-offs during their commercialization activities. However, there has been little insight into the role of strategic orientation, namely speed to market and product performance, in moderating the relationship between team characteristics and market performance in the new product development process. From the analysis of 105 academic spin-offs, this article suggests that team heterogeneity is more likely to support a strategic orientation focusing on product performance, whereas team cohesion supports both speed to market and product performance. This article provides both theoretical and practical recommendations for managing academic spin-offs for the development of new products, especially highlighting the importance of building a heterogeneous team while at the same time maintaining cohesion among team members.