Academic Entrepreneurial Engagement among Academics in Canada and China: The Impact of Research Orientation and University Expectations

Li Yu (), Hui Guo, Olivier Bégin-Caouette, Silvia Mirlene Nakano Koga and Grace Karram Stephenson
Additional contact information
Li Yu: Institute of Public Policy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Hui Guo: School of Education, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Olivier Bégin-Caouette: Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Higher Education Research, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H2V 2S9, Canada
Silvia Mirlene Nakano Koga: Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Higher Education Research, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H2V 2S9, Canada
Grace Karram Stephenson: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, Canada

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Despite a growing awareness of academic entrepreneurship undertaken by professors around the globe, there remain unanswered questions regarding how individual and organizational characteristics shape academics’ decision to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Drawing on data from the 2017–18 Academic Profession in the Knowledge-based Society (APIKS) survey, this study examines research-based and teaching-based academic entrepreneurship engagement in two countries, namely Canada and China, and examines through logistic regressions how academics’ individual research orientation and perceptions of their university’s expectations affect their likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurial activities. The results show that a majority of faculty members in the two countries are involved in entrepreneurial activities, including research-based activities (such as contract research, joint research and publications, and consultancy) and teaching-based activities (such as supervising student internships, volunteer-based work, and public lectures). Regression results suggest that academics who emphasize a theoretical research orientation are less likely to demonstrate entrepreneurial involvement, while academics who report a practical, commercial, or social research orientation are more likely to demonstrate entrepreneurial involvement. Academics who perceive that their university expects them to engage in entrepreneurial activities are also more likely to do so. These findings shed light on ways to reinforce academics’ social involvements and contributions in both countries.

Keywords: academic entrepreneurship; research orientation; university’s expectations; entrepreneurial activities; Canada; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/336/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/336/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2022:i:1:p:336-:d:1014828

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().