Motives of Academic Entrepreneurs

We review research on the activities of scientists employed in entrepreneurial universities. Definitions of behavior in the mainstream entrepreneurship literature argue against the inclusion of patenting as... [ view full abstract ]

We review research on the activities of scientists employed in entrepreneurial universities. Definitions of behavior in the mainstream entrepreneurship literature argue against the inclusion of patenting as “entrepreneurship,” and suggest that future research should require company founding as a critical element of what constitutes entrepreneurial action. We then review the few studies that have addressed the personal characteristics of individual scientists and note that nearly all of these involve comparisons of the self to other individuals. Although prior work in the area has involved sociological theories (especially reference group theory), the psychological theories common in the mainstream entrepreneurship literature are largely absent in studies of academic scientists. A full understanding of what drives academic scientists to commercialize their research findings requires examination of individual differences that go far beyond the demographic characteristics of sex and age. We test predictions derived from the Panel Studies of Entrepreneurial Dynamics in a sample of academic medical scientists, some of whom have created companies and some of whom have not.