08_Maja Levi Jaksic:tipska.qxd Book Review UDC: 005.591.6:338.45(049.32) DOI: 10.7595/management.fon.2015.0016 This Handbook represents a collection of works and contributions by researchers who approach techno-en- trepreneurship, also referred to as ‘technological entrepreneurship’, ‘technology-based entrepreneurship’ or ‘techno-preneurship”, from diverse perspectives. It comprises 18 chapters written by 36 international con- tributors from 16 different countries. The economic crises that has in the past years severely hit many coun- tries causing massive loss of jobs, decrease in productivity, raising unemployment and decreasing competitiveness, has shown that only by adopting the strategy of technological re-engineering and revital- ization can these countries return to the path of economic recovery and prosperity. Developing viable tech- nology-based businesses has emerged as the strategy for future development of the underdeveloped as well as the developed nations. “Having strong high-tech industries is important for emerging and transition coun- tries as they often lack businesses offering added value and being potential exporters outside of the serv- ice sector.” The developed countries are confronted with mature industries where re-engineering and new technology are necessary for their revitalization. The interest of researchers in the field of techno-entrepreneurship has grown in the past ten years and, as it is emphasized, has diffused into different fields of management covering an array of research topics, such as ac- ademic entrepreneurship, frugal innovation, green and sustainable techno-entrepreneurship, family business, techno-intrapreneurship, e-entrepreneurship, commercialization process of innovation, and many others. Techno-entrepreneurship is broadly defined “as the entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial activities of both ex- isting and nascent companies operating in technology-intensive environments.” In this edition we come across multiple definitions that shed light on the phenomenon from different angles. The definitions range from simple statements that emphasize the commercialization role of techno-entrepreneurship (TE) bring- ing emerging technological discoveries and innovation to the market to those that define TE as a style of business leadership that “involves identifying high potential and technology-intensive commercial opportu- nities, managing rapid growth and significant risk, gathering resources such as talent and capital, including principled decision-making skills.” Special attention is paid to the role of TE in the established field of en- trepreneurship at universities and research institutions. Some researchers focus on the opportunity aspects analyzing the process of building organizational capacities based on resources and technological systems that capture value through exploration and exploitation of technological innovation. Alternatives of organizational implementation that the technology entrepreneur can choose from are sys- tematized according to criteria such as legal status and ownership. External, legally independent but com- pany owned options are related to spin-outs that are realized through different arrangements. Internal, legally dependent solutions based on company’s ownership are identified as intrapreneuring and also represented by a detailed analysis of intrapreneurship, corporate venturing and venture management. External, foreign property solutions are represented by start-up share involving corporate venture capital, venture nurturing and new-style venture considerations. Spin-in is an option for foreign property and internal, legally dependent organization that is analyzed through integration/consolidation and merger/acquisition strategies. As related to the new roles of universities and science research institutions, Diane Isabelle, in the chapter “Capitalization of science and technology knowledge: practices, trends and impacts on techno-entrepre- neurship”, has cited a taxonomy of public research spin-off ventures in the following way: direct research 76 2016/75Management Maja Levi Jakšić University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organizational Sciences F. Therin, ed. (2013) Handbook of Research on Techno-Entrepreneurship - How Technology and Entrepre- neurship are Shaping the Development of Industries and Companies, Edward Elgar, London spin-offs, as new ventures created to commercialize intellectual property(IP) arising out of research institu- tion; technology transfer companies, as companies set up to exploit commercially the university’s tacit knowl- edge and know-how; start-ups or indirect spin-off companies, as companies set up by former or present university staff/students with no formal IP licensing or similar relationships to the university, and spin-ins, as new ventures derived from the licensing or other agreed exploitation of new knowledge generated by pub- lic research agencies. Other researchers have contributed to the concept of new technology-based firms by stating their different modes of activity: consultancy and R&D contracting, product oriented modes, and technology asset ori- ented mode. New research results have shown rising trends of partnership and collaborative modes in, once very sep- arate, worlds of university, industry and government. This convergence was presented by Etzkowitz and Leydersdorff in 1995, through the Triple Helix Model. In this model it is emphasized that knowledge and tech- nology are co-developed, rather than transferred. A new concept is emerging called science entrepreneur- ship and means a simultaneous dedication of a scientist to both the academic science and the commercial profit. Some of the differences between countries can be recognized; while in the US this phenomenon is well established, it is relatively new in Germany and Japan “due to stronger compartmentalization between academia and industry”. The example of Cambridge University is an interesting case for the history of en- trepreneurial activities dated back to 1881 when the Cambridge Scientific Instruments Company was founded. It has become a tradition at Cambridge University and in the last few decades companies rooted in the university have been rising. It is stated that this phenomenon today shows that nearly 20 percent of firms have a university as a founder. As related to spatial concentration, incubators, science parks, centers of excellence, clusters, public-private partnerships and public procurement are explained. The commercialization process in small technology firms is dependent on both internal activities and exter- nal support services, as Jarkko Pellika concludes in his theoretical research. Another interesting new concept developed in this Handbook is the frugal innovation defined as “business model characterized by the use of limited resources to create low cost products – from $35 tablet comput- ers to $3000 cars – that are sustainable for the environment and individual communities”. Preeta Banerjee and Ana Leirner have stated in their research that frugal innovation begins in developing countries by ask- ing the question: how can we do more with less while serving the basic needs of the Bottom of Pyramid pop- ulation? The authors emphasize that in answering this question the innovations brought forward are often good quality, functional products that are reasonably priced even to customers of modest means. Sustainable technology entrepreneurship is concluded to be of high potential for future research and ef- fective use in the concrete situations in practice. The challenging new ideas, theoretical and multilevel frame- works, should further be investigated for the purpose of understanding sustainability and enabling technological entrepreneurs to play a key role in moving towards a sustainable society. Receieved: May 2015. Accepted: June 2015. 77 Management 2016/75