Framework conditions of academic entrepreneurship: \nAn empirical investigation at Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences

Field: Business, Management and Accounting (Social Sciences)

Operating at the interface between scientific research and commercial exploitation of research, knowledge transfer in the form of academic entrepreneurship is considered integral to the so- called third mission of universities and universities of applied sciences. Spin-off engagement has been studied by both psychological and economistic scholars using institutional and motivational theories, yet there is still limited knowledge about how organizational conditions interact with scientist’s motivation and drive academic entrepreneurship. This research is urgently needed, as it is known from the literature that a lack of organizational support that addresses scientists' needs can lead to institutional barriers and a lack of academic spin-off engagement. \nMotivated by recent data demonstrating female entrepreneurial activity among academics in scientific fields lags behind that of men, the first manuscript presents an analysis of formal and informal entrepreneurial conditions at Swiss universities of applied sciences to identify the status of female entrepreneurship. By addressing the aforementioned gap, the descriptive approach of the first manuscript explored the lack of support for female scientists involved in entrepreneurship and shed light on how to promote their full entrepreneurial potential. Research has shown that while a positive environment promotes entrepreneurship, personal motives and satisfaction with the current work situation may also determine entrepreneurial careers. \nThe second manuscript is concerned with job satisfaction as a moderator in entrepreneurial decision-making. Individuals make critical choices between employment and self-employment to maximize the benefits of career choice when considering expected outcomes. Prior research identified entrepreneurial careers as an escape from poor work environments; thus, there is a lack of understanding regarding how job-satisfaction triggers entrepreneurship within universities. Informed by Social Cognitive Careers Theory, a multigroup analysis aims to test if job dissatisfaction fosters the re-evaluation of outcome expectations to define entrepreneurial career goals. \nThe third manuscript examined the robustness of intentional motivation theories in prior entrepreneurship research. By combining the Theory of Planned Behavior and Mindset Theory of Action, this investigation addresses the formation of entrepreneurial intention, focusing on the transition from motivation to implementation in the context of academia. Until recently, research mostly relied on cross-sectional data to predict and measure the strength of entrepreneurial intention in the phase preceding the launch of a new business, without \n8 \nconsidering whether participants were in the motivational or actional phase. In turn, this creates a gap of knowledge concerning the cognitive and motivational processes involved in fostering entrepreneurial intention. \nThe research questions above were addressed using a survey of academics from the Swiss universities of applied sciences. Overall, the thesis contributes new findings to the current literature in three primary ways. First, it highlights the lack of a stimulating entrepreneurial environment at Swiss UAS, thus serving as a basis for decision makers to start future incentives to foster female entrepreneurship. Second, it shows that academics are more likely to engage in entrepreneurial activities than spin-off activities when they have positive outcome expectations toward entrepreneurial actions and are dissatisfied with their current employment. Third, by showing a direct influence of entrepreneurial engagement on intention, a moderation effect of engagement on the Theory of planned behavior predictors and a threshold of intention-growth per the context after the initiation of the first entrepreneurial action, this thesis reignites prior discussion about studying entrepreneurial intention rather than behavior. The findings of this thesis highlight the need to transform intention-based research into action-based research when studying the impact of organizations on the creation of academic spin-offs since much more research untangling the cognitive mechanisms behind the business implementation is required. For policymakers, the results of the thesis are in line with SNSF-project outcomes, calling for new strategies for targeted and personalized support for academics at universities of applied sciences.