The incidence of high-technology start-ups and spin-offs in a technology-oriented branch plant complex: The case of Research Triangle Region, North Carolina

The dissertation examines the process of new high-technology firm formation in a technology-oriented branch plant complex represented by the Research Triangle Region, North Carolina. Three major research issues are pursued: the magnitude and nature of technology-oriented entrepreneurship development in a technology-oriented branch plant complex; the characteristics and backgrounds of technology-oriented entrepreneurs; the effects of regional attributes and other factors on the incidence of high-technology start-ups and spin-offs.; The Research Triangle Region's emergence as a major technology-oriented industrial complex and the incidence of high-technology start-ups and spin-offs between 1959 and 1990 are analyzed. These developments are analyzed using a framework which defines the process of high-technology entrepreneurial development in a technology-oriented branch plant complex and a combination of various research methods: a case study, a questionnaire survey, and the technique of event history analysis.; Over the study period, a significant incidence of high-technology start-ups and spin-offs was found in the Research Triangle Region. Most of these new firms started since 1980 in service-oriented industries and are small in employment size. On average, the founders of new high-technology firms in the region were in the late 30s at the time of their start-up and had a graduate education. The majority of them had worked in the same or related fields to their current business, had lived a shorter period of time in the region, and had neither entrepreneurial family background nor any previous business formation experience.; The high incidence of high-technology start-ups and spin-offs in the region has occurred due to the presence of potential entrepreneurs with specific characteristics and backgrounds, the conducive regional environment, and the favorable macroeconomic conditions. No single factor or a group of factors is sufficient for the explanation of high-technology entrepreneurial development in the region. The agglomeration effect of various regional factors renders more plausible theoretical explanation on the incidence of high-technology start-ups and spin-offs over time.; The case of the Research Triangle Region demonstrates that the industrial recruitment policy efforts targeted at technology-oriented branch plants can lay the foundation for a significant incidence of high-technology start-ups and spin-offs but it requires a long-term restructuring process of a regional economy.