BREAKING THE CAREER PATH IN ACADEMIA: DOES ENTREPRENEURSHIP HELP?

We study to what extent the ability to reach out to different communities is key for career progression in academia and the role that entrepreneurship has in this process. We use signalling theory and we focus on path-breaker... [ view full abstract ]

We study to what extent the ability to reach out to different communities is key for career progression in academia and the role that entrepreneurship has in this process. We use signalling theory and we focus on path-breaker scientists, looking for promotion in a different scientific field. We consider 21,596 scientists, employed by the 64 Italian STEM universities who applied for promotion through the national promotion system in 2012. We find entrepreneurship helps maximize the likelihood of being promoted in a different field. The impact of entrepreneurship is stronger for academics with greater publication breadth, whereas it has a substitution effect for those who commit to managerial-related service activities within academia. Implication for entrepreneurship research and public policy are discussed.