Assessing the Impact of Organizational Justice on Academic Entrepreneurship: Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence From University Scientists

各大学设立了技术转让办公室(TTO)，以管理联邦资助的研究产生的知识产权的商业化。在这种知识产权的基础上申请专利、许可或成立新公司的教职员工被指示通过大学TTO工作，TTO是一个正式的技术转让过程。然而，一些学术科学家选择绕过或绕过大学TTO，从事非正式的技术转让。该项目的目标是获得关于非正式技术转让决定因素的新证据。它为大学管理者和管理大学的政策制定者提供了有用的见解。了解非正式技术转让的诱因可以帮助各机构采取有效的政策来支持学术创业，并发展一种更有利于正式技术转让的组织氛围。该项目对旨在刺激教职员工和学生企业家创业的倡议具有进一步重要的影响，例如NSF I-Corps计划。这项研究解决了以往学术研究的主要局限性。重点是个别教职员工，他们是创新和潜在创业的源泉。这项研究考察了与个人和与大学TTO合作的决定相关的关键心理变量。具体地说，我们考察了TTO在教育教职员工关于学术创业、倡导大学管理者的行为(例如，特别热衷于学术创业的大学校长)以及教职员工对公平和公平(即组织正义)的看法方面所做的努力。这是将组织公平原则应用于大学技术转移的首次研究。我们既使用定量方法，也使用定性方法。我们进行了几个详细的案例研究，更广泛地说，对35所大学的教职员工进行了调查。结合使用关于个人、学术部门、大学和抽样大学周围地区的数据，可以从全面的角度看待非正式技术转让。

Universities have established technology transfer offices (TTOs) to manage the commercialization of intellectual property arising from federally-funded research. Faculty members who patent, license, or form a new company based on this intellectual property are directed to work through the university TTO, a process of formal technology transfer. However, some academic scientists choose to circumvent or bypass the university TTO and engage in informal technology transfer. The objective of this project is to obtain new evidence on the determinants of informal technology transfer. It provides useful insights for university administrators and policymakers who govern universities. An understanding of what induces informal technology transfer can help institutions adopt effective policies to support academic entrepreneurship and also develop an organizational climate that is more conducive to formal technology transfer. The project has further important implications for initiatives designed to stimulate startup formation by faculty and student entrepreneurs, such as the NSF I-Corps program. This research addresses key limitations of prior studies of academic. The focus is the individual faculty member, who is the source of innovation and potential entrepreneurship. This research examines key psychological variables that are relevant to individuals and the decision to work with the university TTO. Specifically, we examine efforts on the part of TTOs to educate faculty regarding academic entrepreneurship, championing behavior by university administrators (e.g., university presidents who are especially enthusiastic about academic entrepreneurship), and faculty perceptions of fairness and equity (i.e., organizational justice). This is the first study to apply principles of organizational justice to university technology transfer. We use both quantitative and qualitative methods. We conduct several detailed case studies, and more broadly, survey faculty members at 35 universities. The combined use of data on individuals, academic departments, universities, and the surrounding regions of sampled universities, enables a comprehensive perspective on informal technology transfer.