Academic spin-offs enjoy the increasing attention of policy makers in the last years. Recently, the topic gained the interest and attention of already established enterprises as well. The reason is the new division of labour between large and small, knowledge-based enterprises in the generation and development of new technologies. Research results are primarily available for the USA and a number of EU countries. Empirical research for other countries is missing. Recent research results suggest that academic spin-offs particularly in high technology sectors are dependent on factors that are difficult to measure, such as mentality, institutional arrangements, and the traditional relation between economy and science. Those factors are neglected in studies that cover single countries only. This study analysed those factors through international comparison. The study analysed  the impact of institutional conditions, market and resource configurations on spin-off activities and the development of spin-offs in international comparison.