Academic entrepreneurship: uncovering the role of formal and informal logics in the academic entrepreneurial space

Abstract

This study integrates the embedded perspective of entrepreneurship with institutional logics theory to theorise AE as an embedded phenomena, sitting at the intersection of individuals within surrounding contexts. Drawing on qualitative data from STEM academics at three research-intensive universities—in the UK (23), Australia (32), and Italy (26)—we develop the concept of the academic entrepreneurial space , as the arena within which AE unfolds, structured by a constellation of four logics: profession, discipline, impact, and resource & culture. We show how each logic shapes individual attitudes and motivations through three socio-cognitive mechanisms—signification, legitimation, and domination—and how the logics interact through four cross-level mechanisms—filtering, resistance, refraction, and compounding. By conceptually defining the logics underpinning AE, foregrounding the mechanisms through which multiple logics shape academics’ attitudes and motivations for AE, and how logics interact, the study contributes understanding on the embedded nature of AE, providing theoretical and practical insight.