The Influence of the Knowledge Area on the Ranking of Determinants of Academic Entrepreneurship

The study of academic entrepreneurship has become a prolific area of research in the last 20 years, coinciding with the interest shown by political and universityauthorities. This interest is the result of the contribution made by this entrepreneurship, particularly through spin-off creation, economic development, employment and the image and resources of the university. However, according to the literature, the founding of spin-offs varies with the subject area of the researcher, this being one of the main factors influencing the propensity to create companies. Design/methodology/approach: The main objective of this research is to identify the structure of preferences of academics and their ranking, to understand the influence of the determinant factors of the entrepreneurial intention of academics.To this end, a qualitative study has been carried out involving 42 academics from Spanish universities in order to identify the determinant factors of this segment, along with a quantitative study using the conjoint analysis method and involving 1,726 researchers, whose purpose was to identify the ranking of these determinant elements. Findings:The contributions of this study to the research area are important from both a theoretical and practical point of view. Firstly, the methodology used for the quantitative analysis has not been used before in this scientific field. Secondly, the results of the qualitative analysis show that the determining factors of entrepreneurial intention are the same regardless of the research area of the academic. Finally, this study concludes that these determining factors are valued and ranked very differently depending on the academic area, thus demonstrating the existence of differentiated segments within academic entrepreneurship. Research/practical implications:This study offers a series of important practical implications, particularly in the aspect referring to policies for the promotion of academic entrepreneurship. While the determinant factors of entrepreneurial intention are the same for all academics, a differentiation in valuations and rankings can be observed depending on the area in question. This aspect implies that several segments can be created, so those responsible for public and university policies must take into account these different valuations in order to promote entrepreneurship in those areas that they consider strategic or priority given their line of specialisation. Originality/value:Firstly, the conjoint analysis method, tested and widely used in other areas, has never been used for the study of academic entrepreneurship. This methodology is very useful given its ability to divide the decision into several important attributes and to classify the preferences, thus offering a new perspective for the analysis of the results in this area.Secondly,of all the factors cited by the literature as determinants of academic entrepreneurship, this study manages to identify six, therefore offering an interesting original contribution to the literature.