Academic entrepreneurs' research experience, corporate positions and external knowledge search

Yuanyuan Chen and Alfredo Jiménez

European Journal of Innovation Management, 2026, vol. 29, issue 4, 1210-1230

Abstract: PurposeThis study explores how academic entrepreneurs' prior scientific research experience influences their firms' external knowledge search behaviors, and how their corporate positions within academic spin-offs moderate this relationship.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on imprinting theory, we empirically examine 139 academic spin-offs listed on China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ). We measure research experience through academic titles and honors, and assess knowledge search behavior using patent citation data to capture both search breadth and search depth. Hierarchical regression analysis and robustness tests, including instrumental variable and subsample analysis, are employed to validate the results.FindingsThe results show that academic entrepreneurs' research experience significantly enhances both the depth and breadth of external knowledge search. Furthermore, corporate positions moderate these relationships: low or nonmanagerial roles amplify the impact of research experience on search depth, while high-level management roles strengthen its effect on search breadth.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by linking imprinting theory to the knowledge acquisition strategies of academic entrepreneurs. It also advances understanding of how dual institutional logics, academic and commercial, shape boundary-spanning behavior depending on entrepreneurs' roles within their ventures.

Keywords: Academic entrepreneurs; Boundary spanner; Imprint; External knowledge search (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ejimpp:ejim-08-2025-1038

DOI: 10.1108/EJIM-08-2025-1038

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