Periodic Reporting for period 1 - UNGENDERED VALUES (Disrupting gendered stereotypes and disclosing neglected value-laden motivations of academic entrepreneurship)
Reporting period: 2022-08-01 to 2024-07-31
The growth and well-being of societies depend partly on the ability of science to answer the problems that each society faces, both at a collective and individual level. The solutions to societal issues, be technical, economic, political, and environmental, can be provided through various means. One of these means is the transfer of knowledge and technology by researchers, known as 'academic entrepreneurship.' Thus, the latter would be researchers who, in addition to researching, engage in an entrepreneurship process of transferring the results of their research to society in the form of start-ups or spin-offs.
Entrepreneurship has often been intrinsically associated with capitalist values, portrayed in movies where ambitious scientists prioritize greedy pecuniary goals and do not care whether their actions' outcomes are detrimental to society. However, previous research has shown, on the one hand, that scientists have intrinsic value-laden motivations to engage in these ventures or relationships other than pecuniary reasons. On the other hand, different strands of research have suggested that women researchers do not engage in innovation activities because, among other reasons, these activities are tied to notions of masculinity that are also portrayed in movies where entrepreneurs are mainly men who
Most studies of science have given an account of researchers' entrepreneurial behavior in a compartmentalized way, that is, without taking into account researchers' other social worlds. Researchers belong to multiple social worlds, where other (un)gendered idiosyncratically hierarchized, both societal and individual values come to co-exist and thus guide their goals. Researchers, thus, set other simultaneous personal and professional goals, such as family care, which, depending on myriad situated factors and socially gendered prescriptive roles, may be prioritized over entrepreneurial goals.
The main goal of this project is to explain why women and men researchers (dis)engage in entrepreneurship over time by considering their value-laden motivations, their gendered stereotypes of entrepreneurship, their epistemic practices, the reward system they belong to, their type of research, their beliefs about the goals of science, the entrepreneurial culture of the institutions they belong to, and their personal and professional situations. A secondary goal of this project is to investigate whether movies can be used to reflect on gendered beliefs of academic entrepreneurship and thus help to disrupt these beliefs.
Entrepreneurship has often been intrinsically associated with capitalist values, portrayed in movies where ambitious scientists prioritize greedy pecuniary goals and do not care whether their actions' outcomes are detrimental to society. However, previous research has shown, on the one hand, that scientists have intrinsic value-laden motivations to engage in these ventures or relationships other than pecuniary reasons. On the other hand, different strands of research have suggested that women researchers do not engage in innovation activities because, among other reasons, these activities are tied to notions of masculinity that are also portrayed in movies where entrepreneurs are mainly men who
Most studies of science have given an account of researchers' entrepreneurial behavior in a compartmentalized way, that is, without taking into account researchers' other social worlds. Researchers belong to multiple social worlds, where other (un)gendered idiosyncratically hierarchized, both societal and individual values come to co-exist and thus guide their goals. Researchers, thus, set other simultaneous personal and professional goals, such as family care, which, depending on myriad situated factors and socially gendered prescriptive roles, may be prioritized over entrepreneurial goals.
The main goal of this project is to explain why women and men researchers (dis)engage in entrepreneurship over time by considering their value-laden motivations, their gendered stereotypes of entrepreneurship, their epistemic practices, the reward system they belong to, their type of research, their beliefs about the goals of science, the entrepreneurial culture of the institutions they belong to, and their personal and professional situations. A secondary goal of this project is to investigate whether movies can be used to reflect on gendered beliefs of academic entrepreneurship and thus help to disrupt these beliefs.
Regarding the main goal of this project, we have interviewed researchers, start-up coaches and other science commercialization stakeholders in universities all over Germany (in total 57 interviews) with the goal to explain researchers' (value-laden) motivations to (dis)engage in start-up foundation. In order to identify potential participants and to complement the information provided by them, we have downloaded and analyzed their LinkedIn profiles and used other sources (e.g. researchers’ start-up websites). We have collected information of (educational) entrepreneurship programs in several German universities and of start-up coaching training programs. Furthermore, we have collected information about the Federal EXIST Funding Program and the Start-up Strategy of the German Federal Government. We are in the process of analyzing this empirical material.
With regard to the project's secondary goal, we selected forty-five movies and documentaries after a thorough search. Twelve movies were analyzed with the collaboration of an expert in the representation of science in movies and TV series. Our visual and textual analysis considered the representation of the gendered dimension of entrepreneurship in the movies, as well as scientists’ value-laden motivation for engaging in science commercialization. We used some scenes of these movies and documentaries in the first and second editions of RISE (Research, Innovation, Science & Entrepreneurship), a modular series of workshops about science commercialization for PhD and postdoctoral researchers at the University of Stuttgart.
Preliminary findings of this project have been presented at:
The Impact of Job (Dis)Satisfaction on Academics’ Entrepreneurial Behavior: Start-up Founding as The Only Alternative At Least For a While. ENI, Stuttgart, 22 April 2024.
How start-up coaches are contributing to the entrepreneurial behavior of researchers, doctoral candidates and postdocs. ENI, Stuttgart, 18 March 2024.
Are movies a good means to instill entrepreneurship in researchers? International Entrepreneurship Education Summit 2023. Stuttgart, 1 December 2023.
Beyond basic and applied research. Target objects as complementary explanations of science commercialization. 4S Conference. Honolulu/Online, 8-11 November 2023.
Target Objects and Authority Relationships as Complementary Explanations of (Non)Science Commercialization. Presented at INGENIO (CSIC-UPV). Valencia, 2 November 2023.
Beyond Basic and Applied Research. Target Objects as Complementary Explanations of Science Commercialization. ENI, Stuttgart, 16 October 2023.
Start-up coaching: what does it add to societal impact of research? Presented at R&D Conference 2023. Sevilla, June 2023.
Gender illusions of entrepreneurship. Presented at JBVI 2022 Entrepreneurship Academy. Madrid, November 2022.
Disrupting gendered stereotypes and disclosing neglected value-laden motivations of academic entrepreneurship. Stuttgart, 12 September 2022.
We are preparing several journal articles based on our ongoing analysis.
With regard to the project's secondary goal, we selected forty-five movies and documentaries after a thorough search. Twelve movies were analyzed with the collaboration of an expert in the representation of science in movies and TV series. Our visual and textual analysis considered the representation of the gendered dimension of entrepreneurship in the movies, as well as scientists’ value-laden motivation for engaging in science commercialization. We used some scenes of these movies and documentaries in the first and second editions of RISE (Research, Innovation, Science & Entrepreneurship), a modular series of workshops about science commercialization for PhD and postdoctoral researchers at the University of Stuttgart.
Preliminary findings of this project have been presented at:
The Impact of Job (Dis)Satisfaction on Academics’ Entrepreneurial Behavior: Start-up Founding as The Only Alternative At Least For a While. ENI, Stuttgart, 22 April 2024.
How start-up coaches are contributing to the entrepreneurial behavior of researchers, doctoral candidates and postdocs. ENI, Stuttgart, 18 March 2024.
Are movies a good means to instill entrepreneurship in researchers? International Entrepreneurship Education Summit 2023. Stuttgart, 1 December 2023.
Beyond basic and applied research. Target objects as complementary explanations of science commercialization. 4S Conference. Honolulu/Online, 8-11 November 2023.
Target Objects and Authority Relationships as Complementary Explanations of (Non)Science Commercialization. Presented at INGENIO (CSIC-UPV). Valencia, 2 November 2023.
Beyond Basic and Applied Research. Target Objects as Complementary Explanations of Science Commercialization. ENI, Stuttgart, 16 October 2023.
Start-up coaching: what does it add to societal impact of research? Presented at R&D Conference 2023. Sevilla, June 2023.
Gender illusions of entrepreneurship. Presented at JBVI 2022 Entrepreneurship Academy. Madrid, November 2022.
Disrupting gendered stereotypes and disclosing neglected value-laden motivations of academic entrepreneurship. Stuttgart, 12 September 2022.
We are preparing several journal articles based on our ongoing analysis.
Our ongoing analysis shows that researchers, both men, and women, have the same value-laden motivations for founding start-ups or spin-offs and that these motivations may have more or less weight depending on the stage of the process and on researchers’ particular personal and professional situations. Preliminary findings show that there are a broader mix of simultaneous motives that play a relevant role in triggering, maintaining and dissuading researchers’ entrepreneurial initiatives. These motives also have different weight over time and are conditioned by researchers’ personal situations and life-style preferences. Moreover, our preliminary findings show that researchers’ decision to become entrepreneurs, while staying or not in academia, may take several years and need different types of mentors and advisors along the process of taking the decision and during the business foundation.
Regarding the use of cinematography to reflect on gendered beliefs and value-laden motivations of academic entrepreneurship, our analysis suggests that some scenes of movies and documentaries could be used as complementary material to reflect on these stereotypes and value-laden motivations, especially in training programs of entrepreneurship among PhD candidates and early career researchers.
Regarding the use of cinematography to reflect on gendered beliefs and value-laden motivations of academic entrepreneurship, our analysis suggests that some scenes of movies and documentaries could be used as complementary material to reflect on these stereotypes and value-laden motivations, especially in training programs of entrepreneurship among PhD candidates and early career researchers.