Academic entrepreneurship in Spanish universities: An analysis of the determinants of entrepreneurial intention

Abstract

Academic entrepreneurship is the process by which an individual or group of individuals linked through their work to a university or research centre use knowledge created in their research to set up business ventures or spin-offs. With the Theory of Planned Behaviour as basis, the influence of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control on academics’ entrepreneurial intentions was studied. The instrument was a survey conducted of 1178 Spanish university academics in various fields of knowledge, professional categories, and levels of seniority in their institution. A structural equation model identified as the main antecedent of entrepreneurial intention the attitude towards entrepreneurship. This was in turn influenced by creativity, perceived utility, and entrepreneurial experience.

Keywords

• Academic entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneur intention
• Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)
• Spin-off