The influence of organizational culture and climate on entrepreneurial intentions among research scientists

Over the past decades, universities have increasingly become involved in entrepreneurial activities. Despite efforts to embrace their ‘third mission’, universities still demonstrate great heterogeneity in terms of their involvement in academic entrepreneurship. This papers adopts an institutional perspective to understand how organizational characteristics affect research scientists’ entrepreneurial intentions. Specifically, we study the impact of university culture and climate on entrepreneurial intentions, including intentions to spin off a company, to engage in patenting or licensing and to interact with industry through contract research or consulting. Using a sample of 437 research scientists from Swedish and German universities, our results reveal that the extent to which universities articulate entrepreneurship as a fundamental element of their mission fosters research scientists’ intentions to engage in spin-off creation and intellectual property rights, but not industry-science interaction. Furthermore, the presence of university role models positively affects research scientists’ propensity to engage in entrepreneurial activities, both directly and indirectly through entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Finally, research scientists working at universities which explicitly reward people for ‘third mission’ related output show higher levels of spin-off and patenting or licensing intentions. This study has implications for both academics and practitioners, including university managers and policy makers

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and academic entrepreneurial preference: is there an association?

Although commercialization of research activities has drawn some research attention, more studies are warranted to clearly understand the drivers behind academic entrepreneurship. The present paper investigates the association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and academic entrepreneurial preference. ADHD symptoms have typically been associated with impaired occupational functioning among wage employees. Recent studies, however, indicate that the same symptoms of ADHD that are a liability for wage employees may work out differently for entrepreneurs. Building on previous studies that link ADHD symptoms to entrepreneurship, and using the theoretical lens of person-environment fit, we hypothesize that ADHD symptoms (at the so-called subclinical level) are associated with academic entrepreneurial preference. Results of our data from academic researchers in France, Spain, and Italy (N = 534) show that there is a negative association between attention-deficit symptoms and academic entrepreneurial preference. However, there is no link between hyperactivity symptoms and academic entrepreneurial preference

Prior Knowledge and Entrepreneurial Innovative Success

This paper is concerned with the relationship between innovative success of entrepreneurs and their prior knowledge at the stage of firm formation. We distinguish between different kinds of experience an entrepreneur can possess and find evidence that the innovative success subsequent to firm formation is enhanced by entrepreneurs prior technological knowledge but not by prior market and organizational knowledge. Moreover we find that prior technological knowledge gathered through embeddedness within a research community has an additionally positive influence on post start-up innovative success. This is a first hint towards the importance of collective innovation activities

Entrepreneurial Self-Identity:Predictors and Effects Within the Theory of Planned Behavior Framework

Purpose: To combine the identity and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) approaches to entrepreneurship, we investigated unique main effects as well as moderating effects of an entrepreneurial self-identity in the TPB-entrepreneurship framework. We also investigated predictors of an entrepreneurial self-identity. Design/methodology/approach: Considering a process model of entrepreneurship, we analyzed two cross-sectional T1 samples of German scientists with regard to two central tasks along the entrepreneurial process (business idea development and business founding) via path model analyses as well as data from follow-up surveys collected at T2 and T3 via regression analyses. Findings: Self-identity predicted founding intentions, above and beyond the effect of the TPB variables. Moreover, self-identity showed a characteristic moderating effect with TPB-intention predictors. Their effect was weaker or even zero at low levels of self-identity. In addition, self-identity forecasted behavior, but had no unique main or moderating effect on behavior in the TPB framework. Self-identity was predictable by past behavior, personality structure, recalled adolescent competencies, and early parental role models. Moreover, an engagement in entrepreneurial activity led to an increase in self-identity over time. Implications: The results suggest that self-identity operates as a motivational factor in entrepreneurial transitions that interacts with TPB variables in a characteristic way. An entrepreneurial self-identity develops from an early developmental stage on, but also during the working life. Originality/value: This study is unique because it integrates the occupational self-concept/self-identity construct into the TPB–entrepreneurship approach, and also delivers new implications concerning how to foster entrepreneurial motivations more effectively by taking the developing occupational self-concept into account.</p

Schumpeter’s entrepreneur – A rare case

In this paper we investigate Schumpeter’s description of an entrepreneur as an actor challenging conventional wisdom to overcome social resistance and skepticism along psychological, sociological and economic dimensions. We analyze motivational and contextual predictors of intentions to become an entrepreneur within a framework based on the theory of planned behavior, social identity theory, and self-categorization theory. Relying on survey data of scientists, our analysis finds that, among those scientists who indicate entrepreneurial intentions, a rather low, but non-negligible share shows entrepreneurial intentions based on a Schumpeterian attitude – i.e., acting against all odds – whereas the rest of the potential entrepreneurs seem to choose an entrepreneurial career in order to comply with the expectations of their social environment – they seem to follow the crowd. By additionally taking into account the Five-Factor model of personality, our finding that entrepreneurial intentions are determined by cognitive and social factors rather than by basic psychological traits leaves room for policy intervention to foster technology entrepreneurship.</p