Bringing Laxmi and Saraswati together: Nano-scientists and academic entrepreneurship in India

Women founders in a high-tech incubator: negotiating entrepreneurial identity in the Indian socio-cultural context

“…Pandey and Panersa, 2020). While there is a growing enthusiasm for academic entrepreneurship, it faces sociocultural constraints of risk-aversion and upper caste brahamanical disdain for applied science and money seekers compared to the theoretical and spiritual (Pandey and Pansera, 2020). The middle-class perceives entrepreneurship as risky, and pressurise their sons in particular to seek stable jobs (Niti Aayog, 2015).…”

“…Entrepreneurship involves risk-taking; and while the traditional concept of entrepreneur as an individual risk-taker might be a myth, the institutionalized support structure of an academic incubator offers a de-risking process (Etzkowitz, 2003). The scientists and the middle class in India are perceived as risk-averse (Pandey and Pansera, 2020). The Indian women in STEM, usually from middle classes (Gupta, 2020a), are also constrained by the patriarchal system.…”

Unraveling the nexus of academic founders and innovation performance: The suppression effect of ownership structure within Sci‐Tech enterprises

“…Academic founders, as a bridge for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in universities, are unifiers between academic and managerial abilities and effective communicators between advanced technology and market demand. They have unique advanced management concepts, know how to respect the value of human capital, and have excellent learning experiences and unique personalities (Pandey & Pansera, 2020). The findings indicate a transformative shift in scientists' role identities during their involvement in the technology transfer process.…”

“…Therefore, it is worthwhile to explore in depth how academic entrepreneurs leverage their strengths and use differentiated resources to promote the innovative performance of their companies. From the current literature, many studies on academic entrepreneurship focus on the interaction between academia and industry (Pandey & Pansera, 2020), founder experience (Wyrwich et al, 2022), entrepreneurial orientation (Wang, Cai et al, 2021), and the relationship between the research productivity and the performance of academic spin-offs (Bojko et al, 2021). Few scholars have examined the impact of academic founder identity on the innovation performance of spin-off firms, and even more so, there is a lack of in-depth analyses and tests of its mechanism.…”