University faculty laboratory startup companies operate under special legal provisions, but due to their foundation in basic research outcomes, they require long-term research and development and large-scale investment capital, and face unique challen...
University faculty laboratory startup companies operate under special legal provisions, but due to their foundation in basic research outcomes, they require long-term research and development and large-scale investment capital, and face unique challenges in performing multiple roles. This study aimed to identify the structural relationships among factors influencing the performance of university faculty laboratory startup companies, where empirical research is limited. Specifically, it examined the direct effects of university startup support institutional environment, resource characteristics from a resource-based view, and entrepreneurial orientation on startup performance, and verified the mediating effects of two capabilities by introducing the concepts of new product development capability and funding acquisition capability necessary for laboratory startup companies. A survey was conducted targeting CEOs or CTOs participating as major shareholders in university faculty laboratory startup companies, and analysis was performed using the PLS-SEM structural equation modeling tool. The analysis results showed that startup support institutional environment, resource characteristics, and entrepreneurial orientation all did not directly influence startup performance. Unlike previous studies, this suggests that due to the unique nature of laboratory startups, external factors and founder characteristics are difficult to convert directly into performance. The most important factors influencing performance were the two internal execution capabilities: new product development capability and funding acquisition capability. Funding acquisition capability had the strongest direct impact on startup performance, and the mediation effect analysis revealed the mechanism by which entrepreneurial orientation and resource characteristics contribute to performance. Entrepreneurial orientation is a precedent factor that strengthens both new product development capability and funding acquisition capability, and through these, a significant complete mediation effect on startup performance was confirmed. Resource characteristics showed a tendency toward mediation effects on startup performance through funding acquisition capability. This means that corporate performance is created when technological resources are converted into financial performance through strengthening funding acquisition capability. On the other hand, startup support institutional environment was not significant in all paths, so the mediation effect was empirically rejected. In conclusion, this study confirmed a new mechanism that the performance of university laboratory startup companies is possible not through inputs themselves such as institutional environment and resources, but through strengthening and mediating endogenous execution capabilities. These results have academic significance in that they introduced the concepts of new product development capability and funding acquisition capability necessary for laboratory startup companies and identified their influence, discovered the mechanism of resource → funding → performance in resource-based theory, established the mediating role of new product development capability and funding acquisition capability in entrepreneurial orientation research, and identified the maximum impact of funding acquisition capability. From a policy perspective, university support needs to complement support systems to directly strengthen companies' core execution capabilities (new product development capability, funding acquisition capability) and accelerate growth, rather than simply creating quantitative infrastructure. From a practical perspective, it suggests that it is important for startup companies to prioritize resource allocation to new product development capability and funding acquisition capability, actively invest entrepreneurial orientation in execution activities, reduce time invested in ineffective support systems, and strategically select programs that strengthen execution capabilities. This study has limitations including sample size constraints, limitations in proving the dynamics of causal relationships due to cross-sectional research design, and subjective measurement of performance indicators. It suggests the need for in-depth research on the influence of new product development capability and funding acquisition capability through future longitudinal studies and concurrent use of objective financial indicators.