Assessing Antecedents Of Entrepreneurial Activities Of Academics At South African Universities

The knowledge economy is driven by entrepreneurship, and the entrepreneurial university takes on the role of an important catalyst for regional economic and social development. Academics represent key agents of knowledge and technology transfer from university to society. Previous research suggests that academics’ successful engagement in entrepreneurial activities can positively contribute to the development of local society and economy. However, evidence on the antecedents of academic engagement and commercialisation is scarce. This study examines whether aspects related to academics’ human, physical and organisational capital resources influence their engagement in consulting, sponsored research, licensing/assignment of intellectual property (IP) and spin-off creation with industry, government and civil society. The analysis is based on a new and unique data set of 398 individual academic researchers affiliated to South African universities who were awarded a quality rating by South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) and covers the full spectrum of academic disciplines. Data analysis employed generalised linear models (GLMs) and demonstrated that the availability of human, physical and organisational resources relate to the four entrepreneurial activities in different ways. The findings support the concept that individual factors are more significant than institutional factors in determining entrepreneurial activities. A key finding is that academics’ engagement in entrepreneurial activities is primarily influenced by their prior entrepreneurial experiences. The study provides scholars investigating academic entrepreneurship, policy makers and university administrators with the key resource drivers of entrepreneurial activities and may assist them in establishing the appropriate role of institutions and organisations in promoting entrepreneurial activities of academics.