UNIVERSITY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FACTORS AS PREDICTORS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION

Abstract

University technology transfer is a collaborative effort between academia and industry involving knowledge sharing and learning. Working closely with their university partners affords biotechnology firms the opportunity to successfully develop licensed inventions and gain access to novel scientific and technological discoveries. These factors may enhance a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation by supporting innovative, proactive, and risk-taking behaviors. This study investigates whether university technology transfer characteristics such as the transfer process, transfer modes (formal and informal), and transfer terms influence entrepreneurial orientation. Using survey data from biotechnology firms that develop human health therapies, the findings suggest that the transfer process and informal technology transfer promote a firm’s ability to act entrepreneurially. Exclusive licensing terms, on the other hand, have a negative influence, and formal technology transfer does not significantly contribute to a firm’s entrepreneurial disposition. Keywords: research, quantitative, entrepreneurship, technology