Making Sense of Science, University, and Industry: Sensemaking Narratives of Finnish and Israeli Scientists

Academic entrepreneurship and the commercialization of science have transformed higher education in recent decades. Although there is ample research on the topic, less is known about how individual scientists experience and perceive the transformation. Drawing on a narratological approach to sensemaking, this study examines how entrepreneurial scientists in Finland and Israel make sense of and narrate the perceived changes in the interface between science, university, and industry. An analysis of 53 semi-structured interviews reveals three sensemaking narratives demonstrating how scientists' interactions with the industry have engendered perceived shifts in 'regimes of value' in universities. These narratives focus on: (1) bi-directional learning between academy and industry; (2) the use of new valuation devices and practices; and (3) changing relationships between scientists and universities. Our findings advance research on academic entrepreneurship by highlighting the coexisting regimes of value and the consequences they have for science, value, and power.

Task complementarity in academic work: a study of the relationship between research, education and third mission tasks among university professors

Professors have multiple responsibilities and tasks. They should contribute to research, teaching and ‘third mission’ activities such as commercialisation of scientific knowledge and industry collaboration. These tasks are expected to be complementary and that synergies between different tasks can lead to positive outcomes. But are professors’ work tasks really complementary or are they rather characterised by trade-offs, and what are the implications of having multiple tasks for academic performance? This study of tenured academic staff in Norwegian universities, observe that there are many positive associations between academic tasks. The data supports the assumption that student supervision is positive for research performance, as is research collaboration with public and private organisations. We also find a positive association between student supervision and participation in third mission activities, but only with research collaboration and not commercialisation activities. The data also indicates that the combined effect of participation in third mission and teaching activities is neither negative nor positive for research performance, and as such we do not find indications that having multiple task is negative for work performance in the form of research output.

Venture creation patterns in academic entrepreneurship: the role of founder motivations

The path to academic entrepreneurship is characterized by a sequence of venture creation activities, which can be classified into operational-, financing- and commercialization activities. Academic entrepreneurship research is concerned with the question how different motives of scientists affect the patterns of these venture creation activities. Using a longitudinal two-period dataset of 165 academic entrepreneurs from 73 universities in Germany, we propose and test a multi-activity-based model that links different types of entrepreneurial motives to venture creation activities. The findings show that founder motives related to self-realization, necessity and an increased financial income increase the likelihood of completing venture creation activities, whereas work-life balance motivations and the drive to make better use of one’s professional knowledge decrease that likelihood. The desire to translate research ideas into practice has no effect. Our results further show that the positive effects of seeking self-realization and an increased financial income are more pronounced for completing commercialization activities than for operational activities. Our study contributes to research on academic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial motivations and helps university administrators and policymakers to design their entrepreneurship support programs more effectively.