The bridge: Connecting science and business

Abstract

This article demonstrates, in a way that the reader can personally experience, the concept of boundary spanning in the pre‐start‐up phase of a university spin‐off company. Using Georg Simmel’s concept of the ‘bridge’ as theoretical idea, I explore how it is possible to connect science and business, that is, how certain groups of people are able to connect and create new ventures together. I use the concept of the bridge to focus on the process of connecting phenomena that are naturally separated but can be connected by an act of human will. Based on 24 months of auto‐ethnographic data, only one category was found to be related, metaphorically, to the idea of a bridge: ‘the business plan’. In the form of an auto‐ethnographic layered narrative I show how the ‘bridge’ was built and how it facilitated shared interpretation.

Keywords:

• bridge
• auto‐ethnography
• layered narrative
• spin‐off
• business plan

Acknowledgements

I am greatly indebted to the editors and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions and assistance on this manuscript. I would also like to extend very special thanks to Suvi Rajamäki for commenting on several drafts of the storyline. I also thank Päivi Eriksson for her support and comments.