This open access book examines how publicly funded research can be systematically converted into scientific, societal, economic and environmental impact within the paradigm of the entrepreneurial university, conceptualised as a platform institution that orchestrates value co-creation among heterogeneous actors. It positions Principal Investigators as key agents of exploitation and argues for a shift beyond compliance, in which exploitation is not an obligation to be addressed toward the end of the project and becomes a strategic, multidimensional and multi-actor process embedded in research throughout the entire project lifecycle. Building on an operational guide to the Horizon Europe framework, and on an integrated Research Impact Management approach, the book develops a Knowledge-Driven Research Exploitation Ecosystem and the Lean Exploitation Model with its Minimum Valuable Exploitable Result, as novel framework to address the cognitive and strategic complexities of exploitation. Furthermore, it proposes an analysis of legal architecture as a by-design condition of research exploitation. Combining conceptual depth with operational guidance, it offers actionable strategies for impact maximisation through endless exploitation.

Marco Romano is Full professor of Management at the Department of Economics and Business at the University of Catania. He is an associate research fellow on technology transfer at the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and a board member of Fondazione GRINS. He authored and co-authored numerous publications in international journals on entrepreneurial issues with respect to scientists as principal investigators, entrepreneurial universities, entrepreneurial ecosystems and technology transfer. He serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Intellectual Capital.

James A. Cunningham is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Newcastle University Business School, UK. His research focus intersects entrepreneurship, innovation, and strategy, with particular interest in academic entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Chiara Marzocchi is Associate Professor of Management (Entrepreneurship and Innovation) at the University of Padova, Italy. She is also Associate Faculty at the Innovation Policy Lab, University of Toronto, and Honorary Fellow at Newcastle University Business School and the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, UK. Her research focuses on nascent entrepreneurship, ecosystem dynamics, and how failure influences learning, knowledge accumulation, and exploitation.

Alessia Munnia is a PhD in Economics, Management, and Decision Making. She was a research fellow within GRINS project at the University of Catania (Italy), a visiting doctoral researcher at Newcastle University (UK), and worked at Accenture. Her research focuses on digital transformation, knowledge management, entrepreneurship, AI, big data, and research impact within innovation ecosystems.