Sustainability orientation of academic spinoffs: does it pay?

The sustainability orientation of entrepreneurial companies is crucial for addressing the sustainability challenges of our time. However, research on the role of sustainability in enhancing performance, as well as the factors enabling sustainability, has been inconclusive thus far. Our study, by relying on 639 Italian academic spinoffs from 59 public universities over the period 2006-2019, demonstrates the relevance of disentangling the role of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, as they contribute differently to economic performance. Economic sustainability enhances performance, environmental sustainability hinders it, and social sustainability does not play any role. However, the sustainability orientation of entrepreneurial ecosystems does play a role. University research and local awareness and support in terms of environmental sustainability can contribute to overcoming the negative effects of environmental sustainability on performance. Similarly, university research and local awareness and support in terms of economic sustainability reinforce the positive effects of economic sustainability on performance.