(417a) The Context and Cognition of Opportunity Recognition: a Perspective on Science Researchers

What causes a research scientist to begin the process of commercializing her research? Is it her prior experience or the composition of her social network? Is it the attitudes and actions of her colleagues in her department or the level of commercialization activity occurring in her geographical region? And how are these decisions influenced by institutional policies, such as patent policies, royalty splits, the size and experience of the institutions technology transfer office? Research scientists and research institutions are under increasing pressure to become engines of economic development through the commercialization of science. But if these institutions do not understand what drives commercialization activity by scientists, how can they implement effective policies and programs to increase it? We address this problem by studying attitudes among research scientists towards commercialization and entrepreneurship, as well as the relationship of these activities to the researcher's individual, departmental, institutional, and regional context. The proposed study draws from emerging research on the impact of social networks on nascent entrepreneurs and the emergence of new ventures, as well as on prior research about the determinants of technology transfer and the impact of geographic and socio-institutional factors on patenting, licensing, and venture start-up in research institutions. We then extend existing theory and empirical evidence by assessing the extent to which these factors influence attitudes towards commercialization; e.g., applied vs. pure science, and rates of entrepreneurial activity; e.g., writing a business plan, soliciting capital, and so forth. Our premise is that rates of commercialization are strongly related to the presence of key individuals and/or social networks that view entrepreneurial activity as legitimate and important, and that these factors may be just as important as technology transfer policies or monetary incentives. Research about the relative influence of different factors, as well as the level at which influence occurs (e.g., individual vs institutional) is therefore needed. This project extends knowledge about commercialization and entrepreneurial processes among research scientists, and contributes to current practice in technology transfer. At present, a broad range of programs and policy changes are being adopted at research institutions across the country, and indeed around the world. The success of these initiatives rests on how they affect researcher attitudes towards commercialization, and ultimately, their decisions to create new ventures. By specifically investigating the influences of those individual perceptions and decisions we hope to provide some guidance to research institutions seeking to improve their commercialization processes and programs