ABSTRACT
This article presents a Swedish case study of the regional effects of academic spin-offs. It is based on empirical data from Halmstad University and the Halmstad region, on the west coast of Sweden. The Halmstad case functions as an illustration of co-existing territorial and functional rationales, where a “rurban” lifestyle is combined with an increasingly “pracademic” knowledge. Spillover effects of university research (directly as well as indirectly) in the form of academic spin-offs have been traced over time. In doing so, we are able to identify two waves of academic entrepreneurship with direct and indirect regional effects. These waves contribute to the strengthening of the regional entrepreneurship and the attractiveness of the region. The establishment and (early) actions of the university can be seen as a stone that was thrown in the water, causing several waves to appear in the region. Whether these waves will be reinforced enough to create an entrepreneurial region, or just slowly disappear as rings on the water, also depends on the creation of an absorptive capacity and construction of the regional innovation system.
