UNIVERSITY CHARACTERISTICS AS THE SUCCESS FACTOR OF ACADEMIC SPIN OFFS KARAKTERISTIKE SVEU ILISTA KAO FAKTOR USPJEHA AKADEMSKIH
The complexity of knowledge based society is constantly adding new challenges for higher education institutions. Entrepreneurial university model is developed in such a way that it incorporates the additional role of the commercialization of knowledge and active contribution to the development of private enterprises in the local and regional economy. The main objective of the paper is to explore the characteristics of university which support entrepreneurial activities and facilitate the generation and exploitation of knowledge and technology. The main research question is how the university can become an incentive factor for the development and success of academic spin off ventures? The results of the research have shown that the characteristics of the social and institutional environment inss uence the development and success of academic spin off ventures by developing various mechanisms that encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition, the research has shown that the university, by strengthening the culture of academic entrepreneurship as well as, by establishing cooperation with industry and public institutions on all levels, encourages the development of academic spin off ventures. In the concluding observations, we emphasized the importance of further research in the Th eld of higher education institutions, in order to provide additional contribution to the literature focused on academic entrepreneurship, as well as to provide practical recommendations for improving the success of academic spin offs.