Scientists as businessmen – can they, should they?

Abstract

The academic entrepreneurial processes attracted significant interest from policy makers and researchers alike. Extensive research tried to shed light among others on the factors that enhance academic entrepreneurship, the organizational consequences of those, respectively on the potential concerns that are related to them. Interestingly it seems that somewhat less attention has been given to one of the key actors in the entrepreneurial turn, to the scientists themselves. This chapter aims to provide an insight into the world of academic entrepreneurs by introducing their importance in the entrepreneurial processes, the motivations of scientist for entrepreneurship, respectively shedding light on their diverse involvement by differentiating between commercialization in engaged universities and commodification in entrepreneurial universities. Through some examples of the categorization of academic entrepreneurial types it also highlights the complexity of the phenomenon.