Rodríguez-Gulías, María JesúsFernández López, SaraRodeiro-Pazos, DavidCorsi, ChristianPrencipe, Antonio2024-07-302024-07-302018María Jesús Rodríguez-Gulías, Sara Fernández-López, David Rodeiro-Pazos, Christian Corsi, Antonio Prencipe, The role of knowledge spillovers on the university spin-offs innovation, Science and Public Policy, Volume 45, Issue 6, December 2018, Pages 875–883, https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scy0180302-3427http://hdl.handle.net/10347/34553This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Science and Public Policy following peer review. The version of record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scy018University Spin-Offs (USOs) are active involved in the knowledge spillover process and full integrated in the regional innovation systems. Drawing on the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship and using a multilevel approach of analysis, we explore whether the region’s knowledge spillover and the firm’s absorptive capacity jointly determine the innovative performance of USOs. At regional level technological spillovers, production spillovers and human capital spillovers has been considered. The results from a cross-national panel sample of 531 and 952 Spanish and Italian USOs, over the period 2005-2013 and located in 36 administrative regions, show that only the production spillovers has a significant positive effect on the USO’s innovative activity. Firm-specific characteristics are important for explaining USOs’ innovation. More specifically, firm age has a negative effect, while firm size seems to have a positive effect. Additionally, USOs active in high-tech sectors seems perform better in their innovation activity.engUniversity spin-offsInnovationKnowledge spilloversMultilevel analysisUniversity technologyjournal article10.1093/scipol/scy0181471-5430open access