Previous literature reports spin-off firms being important agentsof knowledge transfer from established corporations to new businesses,thus promoting the prosperity and well-being of regions, industryclusters and nations (Roberts & Wainer, 1969; Lindholm-Dahlstrand,1997). Spinning off ventures often results in the emergence of networkswhere the parent firms and their spin-offs engage in varying degrees ofresource sharing. However, relatively little is known about theprocesses through which the networks consisting of the parent firm andits spin-off firms come into being. Perhaps because of this reason,there is some confusion in the usage of the term corporate spin-offfirm. In some studies, this term is used to denote embryonic ventures,while other studies reserve the term for the divestment of maturebusinesses. This study aims at fulfilling some of these gaps in existingknowledge by creating a holistic typology of corporate spin-off firmsbased on their evolution patterns as they move from internal corporateventures into independent businesses
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