Turning Life Sciences into Business

This case study explores the entrepreneurial process on the Pivot Park in Oss. The entrepreneurs made the transition from researcher to entrepreneur after the closure of the R&D activity at MSD-Organon. This research explores both the supply-side (the entrepreneur) and demand-side (the cluster setting) of entrepreneurship. Emergence of this cluster does not fit in the existing literature on forms of cluster creation. The cluster is neither fully policy driven or spontaneously developed. Instead, it is a ‘circumstantial-necessity’ driven cluster in which the circumstance of the R&D closure interplayed with the availability of resources, leading to the emergence of the park. Based on the results of this exploratory case study a deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial process on the Pivot Park is gained. The entrepreneurs on the park discovered an opportunity in their role as researcher, and often this opportunity is in their field of expertise. To be able to exploit the opportunity, the entrepreneurs used their social network. It is utilized for assessing the opportunity, getting new connections, attracting resources or forming collaborations.