The Academic Entrepreneur: Myth or Reality for Increased Regional growth in Europe?

Abstract

Knowledge flows from universities to the regional economy can take different forms ranging from formal research collaborations to consultancy and informal personal connections. One of the knowledge communication channels drawing substantial interest of both researchers and regional policy makers is academic spin-off firm formation. According to the concept of the "academic entrepreneur" (Etzkowitz) university spin-off firm formation has grown naturally from the academic culture of the US where professors traditionally behave very much like entrepreneurs while setting up and maintaining research labs, hiring research assistants, "marketing" research results in conferences and publications or networking with colleagues and funding agencies. Spinning off a company is just a step forward from such entrepreneurial tasks of academics. Thus according to this concept academic motivations are main drivers in university spin-off firm formation in the US. Despite this challenging view the empirical literature pays relatively little attention to the particular "academic" features of university spin-offs and rarely considers the specificities of university entrepreneurship most notably the role of scientists as entrepreneurs. Empirical evidence suggests that Europe performs less successfully than the US in transferring knowledge from university labs to the regional economy via spin-off companies. One potential reason behind this difference is that institutions that determine the continental European research system hold back the emergence of academic entrepreneurs. Thus it is the main research question in our paper whether those specific "academic" drivers behind university spin-off firm formation are present at all in the continental European context. The related question is whether professional characteristics of the academics, their social capital, the norms of academia and the academic and business environment support or hinder these academic motivations? This paper is based on interviews carried out with university researchers who actively participate in firm formation in Hungary. Hungary is an excellent European case since the features of its university system are rooted in the continental (mainly German) tradition, but it also inherits some characteristics from the even more centralized socialist (soviet) tradition.

Does context matter in academic entrepreneurship? The role of barriers and drivers in the regional and national context

“…On the contrary, the latter are motivated by elements of necessity and these entrepreneurs act as a way to overcome external barriers (Bosma and Harding 2006). In this case the significance of individual motive is higher when there is a lack of, or no, institutional support, particularly for academics to assist them in engaging in entrepreneurial endeavours (Erdis and Varga 2009). Accordingly, necessity entrepreneurs have been found in lower level economies of less developed nations, which relates to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita.…”

The Role of Mid-Range Universities in Knowledge Transfer in Non-Metropolitan Regions in Central Eastern Europe

“…Central and Eastern European case studies show that university environment in most of the CEE countries regarding spin-offs is rooted in the continental (mainly German) tradition, but it also inherits some characteristics from the even more centralized socialist (soviet) tradition detailed in Section 4 (Erdó´s & Varga, 2009). However, in general, Europe performs less successfully than the USA in transferring knowledge from university laboratories to the regional economy via spin-off companies.…”

Academic entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial universities and biotechnology

“…Classical ' academic entrepreneurs are those who possess publication and citation records, command a position in the university hierarchy, cite the existence of a role model and possess business education and experience. 19 University recruitment efforts thus need to emphasize these characteristics. Over the last decade, Purdue University, for example, has demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to recruiting and supporting a robust research community, especially through external funds and endowments that ignite the ambitions and efforts of Purdue researchers and help commercialize new technologies.…”