Abstract
Purpose This paper aims to understand, in the state of São Paulo academic environment, the differences between the profiles of academic entrepreneurs, nonacademic entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data from a more comprehensive research, whose objective was to evaluate the scholarship programmes of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). For data collection, the authors used an online questionnaire, pre-filled with information from the Lattes Curriculum of the sample individuals, as well as information obtained from FAPESP and from coordination for the improvement of higher education personnel. The response rate of the questionnaires was 21 per cent. The authors sought to explore the variables regarding entrepreneurial activities carried out by former scholarship holders, by relating them to other key variables identified in the literature review and explained in the hypotheses. Findings The results indicate that entrepreneurship rates decrease with the higher academic level of the researcher; in general, academic entrepreneurs come from families with a good financial situation, and applied sciences are the areas of knowledge with more entrepreneurs. Originality/value Despite the great number of theoretical and empirical studies found in the literature on entrepreneurship and academic entrepreneurship, there is still a shortage of practical studies on this latter topic in Brazil. This gap is even more evident when the authors consider the significant growth of entrepreneurial activity in the country in the past years. This paper contributes to fill this gap, and it aims to understand, in the state of São Paulo academic environment, the differences between the profiles of academic entrepreneurs, nonacademic entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs.
Highlights
Entrepreneurial activity is one of the world’s main drivers of economic, technological and social change (Bygrave, 2009; Volkmann et al, 2010)
Entrepreneurship positively affects the economy through the development of technological innovations, creation of new companies and markets, generation of new short and long-term employment opportunities and encouragement of firms’ competitiveness (Kritikos, 2014)
It is worth noting that while there are studies about the influence of socioeconomic status on entrepreneurial profile, as mentioned above, we found no references on the relationship between this fact and academic entrepreneurship
Summary
Entrepreneurial activity is one of the world’s main drivers of economic, technological and social change (Bygrave, 2009; Volkmann et al, 2010). Entrepreneurship positively affects the economy through the development of technological innovations, creation of new companies and markets, generation of new short and long-term employment opportunities and encouragement of firms’ competitiveness (Kritikos, 2014). Entrepreneurship is one of the main channels for carrying out universities’ socioeconomic support functions – or what is commonly known as their third mission (Costa and Torkomian, 2005). According to Etzkowitz (1998), entrepreneurship in universities and research institutes is not an unprecedented phenomenon. Entrepreneurial initiatives have been growing since the 1970s, when researchers in the biomedical sector began to seek ways to capitalize on their research by founding or associating with private companies, characterizing an entrepreneurial branch that Stuart and Ding (2006) called academic entrepreneurship
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