Chapter 6: Principal Investigators in Entrepreneurial Universities ߞ A Research Framework

Scientists in the role of principal investigators (PIs) are one of the most important resources for any entrepreneurial university. This chapter presents an exploratory framework of PI categorization around two key dimensions of visioning and opportunity recognition. We unearth four types of PIs: science focused, collaborative, industry focused, and explorative entrepreneurs. In particular, the role of PIs as explorative entrepreneur and their ability to combine knowledge theory and business practice, to strengthen the cooperation between two different environments, research and business, and to support research spin-off creation in entrepreneurial universities is explored. To match PIs’ scientific and entrepreneurial orientations with entrepreneurial universities’ goals of innovation and entrepreneurship is not an easy task. To make the PIs’ orientation matching entrepreneurial universities’ goals toward market of innovation and entrepreneurship is not an easy task. A research-oriented approach is still predominant in PIs compared to an explorative entrepreneurial mindset oriented to spin-off creation.