nep-sog 2017-01-01 papers

on Sociology of Economics

Issue of 2017‒01‒01
two papers chosen by
Jonas Holmström
Axventure AB

Individual and structural influences on the entrepreneurial activities of academics By Bijedić, Teita; Maaß, Frank; Schröder, Christian; Werner, Arndt
Why researchers publish in non-mainstream journals: Training, knowledge bridging, and gap filling By Diego Chavarro; Puay Tang; Ismael Rafols

Individual and structural influences on the entrepreneurial activities of academics

By:	Bijedić, Teita; Maaß, Frank; Schröder, Christian; Werner, Arndt
Abstract:	In this paper we study how and to what extend (i) individual working conditions (e.g. peers, working atmosphere, work contract incentives, wage satisfaction), (ii) institutions (e.g. technology transfer offices, patent exploitation agencies, chair in entrepreneurship or awards for academic entrepreneurship) and (iii) network relationships simultaneously affect the likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurial activities (nascent entrepreneurship) in academia. Using unique data collected from 5.992 academic scientists in 73 German Universities Germany, we find that entrepreneurial peers and performance based monetary incentives have a strong positive effect on the entrepreneurial intentions. We show that, although there is a comprehensive support infrastructure for start-ups in German academic institutions, these services are little known amongst their staff. Finally we find that market related networks show a high correspondence with high entrepreneurial intentions, whereas networks within the own university do not have any impact. Several mentioned aspects were analyzed before, but mostly on a limited sample (e.g. only stem field), isolated personal variables (e.g. gender) or isolated environmental aspects (e.g. peer groups). Our study provides a holistic view on the impact of several university-specific structural factors on entrepreneurial intentions among academic scientists in Germany by simultaneously focusing on personal and occupational characteristics for different faculties. @Wissenschaftliches Hochschulpersonal generiert im Rahmen seiner Forschungstätigkeit Innovationen und verfügt über aktuelles Wissen, das als Basis für eine innovative Unternehmensgründung betrachtet werden kann. Bisher fehlte jedoch eine umfassende empirische Analyse, inwieweit die bestehenden institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen die Gründungsneigung von Wissenschaftlern beeinflussen. Hier setzt die vorliegende Studie an, indem sie die Wirkung personenbezogener und institutioneller Einflussfaktoren (wie Arbeitsbedingungen, Netzwerkbeziehungen und gründungsfördernde Hochschulangebote) untersucht und potenzielle institutionelle Handlungsfelder identifiziert. Die Befragung von 5.992 Wissenschaftlern an 73 deutschen Hochschulen hat gezeigt, dass insbesondere monetäre Anreize im Forschungskontext aber auch Rollenvorbilder im kollegialen Umfeld, Netzwerke - hier insbesondere außerhalb der eigenen Institution - und spezifische Infrastrukturangebote gründungsfördernd wirken.
Keywords:	Academic Entrepreneurship,Nascent Entrepreneurship,German Universities,Institutions,Working Conditions,Knowledge Transfer
JEL:	O32 M13 J24
Date:	2016
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifmwps:0816&r=sog

Why researchers publish in non-mainstream journals: Training, knowledge bridging, and gap filling

By:	Diego Chavarro (Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, UK); Puay Tang (Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, UK); Ismael Rafols (Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, UK)
Abstract:	In many countries research evaluations confer high importance to mainstream journals, which are considered to publish excellent research. Accordingly, research evaluation policies discourage publications in non-mainstream journals under the assumption that they publish low quality research. This approach has prompted a policy debate in low and middle income countries with financial and linguistic barriers to access mainstream journals. A common criticism of the current evaluation practices is that they can hinder the development of certain topics that are not published in mainstream journals – although some of them might be of high local relevance. In this article we examine this issue by exploring the role of non-mainstream journals in scientific communication. We asked researchers from agricultural sciences, business and management, and chemistry in Colombia about their reasons to publish in non-mainstream journals. We found that researchers publish in non-mainstream journals because they: 1) offer a space for initiation into publishing (training); 2) provide a link between articles in mainstream journals and articles read by communities with limited access to them (knowledge-bridging); 3) publish topics that are not well covered by mainstream journals (knowledge gap-filling). Therefore, publication of ‘low scientific quality’ articles does not sufficiently explain the role of non-mainstream journals. The results suggest that research evaluation policy in low and middle income countries should consider assigning greater value to non-mainstream journals given their role in disseminating potentially useful knowledge, in particular regarding local or regional issues.
Keywords:	research evaluation; science communication system; universalism; mainstream journals; non-mainstream journals; publication patterns
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sru:ssewps:2016-22&r=sog

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