What motivates academics to engage in industry? The role of spiritual and religious urges

Abstract

This study introduces and applies the Fitrah Tendencies framework to make up for the dearth of studies on academics’ urges to play a part in industry. To this end, 62 academics were selected and interviewed based on Lam’s (2011) typology as to come up with their main motives for engaging in industry. As per the results, new dimensions including the need for fully understanding God, the desire for doing good deeds, and the freedom felt in the economic environment were added to the previously reported factors.

Full text

European
Research
on
Management
and
Business
Economics
26
(2020)
164–173
w
ww.elsevier.es/ermbe
What
motivates
academics
to
engage
in
industry?
The
role
of
spiritual
and
religious
urges
Alireza
Babakhan∗,
Mohammad
Ali
Shafia,
Ata
Allah
Rafiei
Atani,
Alireza
Aliahmadi
Iran
University
of
Science
and
Technology,
University
St.,
Hengam
St.,
Resalat
Square,
Tehran,
Iran
a
r
t
i
c
l
e
i
n
f
o
Article
history:
Received
12
October
2018
Received
in
revised
form
15
May
2020
Accepted
23
July
2020
Available
online
18
September
2020
JEL
classification:
M20
M21
Keywords:
Academic
entrepreneurship
Academic
researcher
Motivation
The
fitrah
framework
a
b
s
t
r
a
c
t
This
study
introduces
and
applies
the
Fitrah
Tendencies
framework
to
make
up
for
the
dearth
of
studies
on
academics’
urges
to
play
a
part
in
industry.
To
this
end,
62
academics
were
selected
and
interviewed
based
on
Lam’s
(2011)
typology
as
to
come
up
with
their
main
motives
for
engaging
in
industry.
As
per
the
results,
new
dimensions
including
the
need
for
fully
understanding
God,
the
desire
for
doing
good
deeds,
and
the
freedom
felt
in
the
economic
environment
were
added
to
the
previously
reported
factors.
©
2020
Published
by
Elsevier
Espa˜
na,
S.L.U.
on
behalf
of
AEDEM.
This
is
an
open
access
article
under
the
CC
BY-NC-ND
license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
1.
Introduction
Scholars’
recently
developed
social
role
has
urged
many
uni-
versities
worldwide
to
boost
their
income
through
establishing
links
between
their
intellectual
properties
and
industry
(Henkel,
2005).
The
emerging
scientists
have
challenged
Merton’s
(1957)
early
formulation
of
the
norms
of
basic
science
and
the
newly
pro-
posed
productive
interactions
(Spaapen
&
Van
Drooge,
2011),
social
impacts
of
research
(Bornmann,
2013),
scientific
research
and
inno-
vations
(Owen,
Macnaghten,
&
Stilgoe,
2012),
and
transformative
changes
(Schot
&
Steinmueller,
2016).
To
know
of
scientists’
interest
in
engaging
in
industry
and
entrepreneurial
activities
(Rothaermel,
Agung,
&
Jiang,
2007),
scholars
have
explored
such
factors
as
the
academics’
human
capital
endowments
and
social
networks
(Audretsch,
Aldridge,
&
Sanders,
2011)
and
financial
and
reputational
benefits
of
private
businesses
(Lacetera,
2009).
However,
the
reported
results
are
not
conclusive
as
less
attention
has
been
paid
to
spiritual
and
religious
urges
(Balog,
Baker,
&
Walker,
2014).
Thus,
integrating
different
motivational
urges
of
academic
entrepreneurs
and
using
∗Corresponding
author.
E-mail
addresses:
alibabakhan@ind.iust.ac.ir
(A.
Babakhan),
omidshafia@iust.ac.ir
(M.A.
Shafia),
rafieiatani@iust.ac.ir
(A.A.R.
Atani),
pe@iust.ac.ir
(A.
Aliahmadi).
an
Islam-oriented
conceptual
framework
under
the
name
of
Fitrah
Tendencies
is
the
objective
here.
2.
Research
context
No
thorough
exploration
of
motivational
factors
in
stimulat-
ing
academics
to
engage
in
industry
has
been
done
(Guerrero
&
Urbano,
2012),
nor
of
the
Iranian
universities
(Farsi,
Modarresi,
Motavaseli,
&
Salamzadeh,
2014)
which
call
for
knowledge
about
the
academics’
motivational
drives
before
developing
any
incen-
tive
policies
to
connect
universities
with
industries
(Jain,
George,
&
Maltarich,
2009;
Lockett
&
Wright,
2005;
Shane,
2004).
As
a
developing
country,
Iran
has
experienced
several
institu-
tional
evolutions
in
science,
technology
and
innovation
(STI)
of
its
governance
system
since
2000.
The
Iranian
STI
policy
makers
seemingly
hold
that
transition
to
entrepreneurial
universities
is
necessary
to
solve
many
social
problems;
e.g.,
they
changed
the
Ministry
of
Culture
and
Higher
Education
(MCHE)
to
Ministry
of
Sci-
ence,
Research
&
Technology
(MSRT)
to
establish
entrepreneurship
centers
at
universities.
Four
years
later,
the
law
on
the
4th
Five-
Year
Economic,
Social
and
Cultural
Development
Plan
(FYESCDP)
of
the
state
was
passed
to
the
effect
ofuniversities’
modifying
their
curricula
and
providing
entrepreneurship
education
and
opportu-
nities
for
research.
To
this
end,
the
Iranian
Supreme
Council
for
Science,
Research
&
Technology
(ISCSRT)
was
set
up
as
a
division
of
MSRT
in
2004.
Next,
the
Vice-Presidency
for
Science
and
Tech-
nology
(VPST)
was
built
in
2006
to
facilitate
commercialization
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2020.07.002
2444-8834/©
2020
Published
by
Elsevier
Espa˜
na,
S.L.U.
on
behalf
of
AEDEM.
This
is
an
open
access
article
under
the
CC
BY-NC-ND
license
(http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

A.
Babakhan
et
al.
/
European
Research
on
Management
and
Business
Economics
26
(2020)
164–173
165
of
science.
The
successive
5th
FYESCDP
was
to
develop
Academic
Entrepreneurship
Development
Plan
(AEDP)
to
be
implemented
in
2009.
Coincidently,
a
new
law
was
enacted
to
support
com-
mercialization
of
academic
inventions,
and
implemented
in
2012.
Other
important
policies
include
establishing
the
commission
for
teaching
and
research
in
the
parliament,
creating
offices
to
link
university
and
industry,
building
offices,
research
centers,
science
and
technology
parks,
business
incubators,
and
venture
capitals
for
transferring
technology
(TTO).
Despite
the
already
made
institutional
provisions
such
as
passing
laws
and
building
new
organizations,
national
(Farsi,
Imanipour,
&
Salamzadeh,
2012)
and
international
(RezaeiZadeh,
Hogan,
O’Reilly,
Cunningham,
&
Murphy,
2017)
studies
have
shown
how
the
goals
of
policy
makers
have
not
been
fully
achieved
and
the
transition
to
entrepreneurial
university
not
successfully
happened.
This
may
be
because
institutional
provisions
are
not
the
only
pre-
requisites
for
establishing
the
link
between
university
and
industry,
rather,
there
exist
a
number
of
environmental
and
internal
factors
that
affect
the
development
of
entrepreneurial
universities
(Fini,
Grimaldi,
&
Sobrero,
2009;
Guerrero
&
Urbano,
2012).
The
former
incorporates
issues
such
as
focus
on
the
Iranian
developmental
plans
and
building
TTOs
and
business
incubators;
whereas,
the
internal
factors
have
to
do
with
issues
such
as
the
personality
traits
of
the
managers
and
academics,
sources
of
funding,
and
strategies
for
making
effective
incentives
(Guerrero
&
Urbano,
2012).
The
previous
studies
(Franco
&
Haase,
2015;
Louis,
Blumenthal,
Gluck,
&
Stoto,
1989)
marked
the
heterogeneity
of
the
academics
who
were
led
by
different
motivational
drives
to
engage
in
industry.
For
example,
in
her
typology
(Table
1),
Lam
(2010)
incorporates
a
comprehensive
categorization
of
entrepreneurs.
At
one
end
of
the
spectrum,
“traditional”
academics
believe
in
distinction
between
academia
and
industry,
while
at
the
other,
“entrepreneurial”
aca-
demics
highlight
the
fundamental
importance
of
science-business
collaborations.
In
between,
there
exist
“traditional
hybrid”
and
“entrepreneurial
hybrid”
academic
people
who
are
mainly
iden-
tified
based
on
their
tendencies
towards
the
aforementioned
ends
of
the
continuum.
Thus,
the
traditional
academics
are
not
expected
to
be
interested
in
industry
(Campbell
&
Slaughter,
1999).
However,
some
evidence
indicates
that
they
can
assist
in
solving
economic
problems
(Etzkowitz,
2014).
Given
the
gap
in
the
available
literature
and
the
reality
of
the
Iranian
academic
context
where
young
researchers
are
supported
to
participate
in
entrepreneurship
activities,
the
question
of
why
academics
engage
in
industry
deserves
particular
attention.
To
maximize
the
impact
of
our
inquiry,
we
narrowed
down
its
scope
and
developed
questions
that
solely
revolved
around
teacher-
researchers
as
opposed
to
lecturers.
The
questions
included
which
motivational
factors
encourage
1)
traditional,
2)
traditional
hybrid,
3)
entrepreneurial
hybrid,
and
4)
entrepreneurial
academics
to
engage
in
industry?
3.
Factors
encouraging
academics
to
engage
in
industry
Recent
financial
crises
that
limited
the
governmental
fund-
ing
for
the
universities
led
scholars
toward
engaging
in
industry.
Despite
lack
of
general
consensus,
they
have
introduced
a
number
of
motives
to
account
for
the
current
trends.
3.1.
Financial
/
economic
motives
Securing
funds
from
industrial
bodies
for
research
purposes
is
a
significant
motif
for
academics
to
collaborate
and
solve
real
prob-
lems
(Lee,
2000).
In
some
cases,
academics
take
industry
as
a
source
of
revenue
and
personal
income
to
speed
up
their
research
activities
(Walsh,
Baba,
Goto,
&
Yasaki,
2008).
Unlike
Azagra-Caro,
Aznar-
Marqez,
and
Blanco
(2008))
and
D’Este
and
Perkmann
(2011),
many
scholars
(Nelson,
2004;
Partha
&
David,
1994;
Perkmann
&
Walsh,
2008)
have
pointed
out
the
role
of
monetary
incentives
in
stimu-
lating
academics’
interest
in
industry;
perhaps
because
academics
view
the
financial
supports
as
not
only
a
way
for
increasing
their
total
earnings,
but
a
source
for
funding
their
projects
(Nilsson,
Rickne,
&
Bengtsson,
2010).
3.2.
Scientific
motives
Despite
its
seemingly
negative
effects
on
academics’
freedom
(Nelson,
2004)
and
their
publication
opportunities
(Arvanitis,
Kubli,
&
Woerter,
2008),
engagement
in
industry
provides
academics
with
new
opportunities
to
implement
their
theories,
deepen
their
knowledge
(Arza,
2010),
develop
new
technologies
(De
Fuentes
&
Dutrenit,
2012),
improve
their
learning
(Lee,
2000),
and
satisfy
their
curiosity
(Hagstrom,
1965).
Likewise,
academics
who
learn
through
experience
can
receive
expert
comments
and
feedback
(Arvanitis
et
al.,
2008),
become
aware
of
the
strengths
and
weaknesses
of
their
assumptions
and/or
theories
(Ankrah,
Burgess,
Grimshaw,
&
Shaw,
2013),
and
co-author
high-quality
papers
with
indus-
trial
stakeholders
(D’Este
&
Patel,
2007).
Besides,
as
limited
access
to
up-to-date
facilities
may
hinder
the
progression
of
research
projects
at
universities,
the
U-I
links
can
increase
academics’
access
to
infrastructures
such
as
well-equipped
laboratories
and
expen-
sive
materials
(Ankrah
et
al.,
2013),
state-of-the-art
techniques
(Santoro,
2000)
and
up-to-date
equipment
(Acworth,
2008).
3.3.
Social
motives
The
social
pressure
that
calls
for
universities’
contribution
to
solving
economic
problems
represents
the
third
category
of
the
motives
(Liefner
&
Schiller,
2008)
that
encourage
scholars
to
trans-
fer
their
knowledge
to
the
industrial
world
which,
in
turn,
can
create
many
employment
opportunities
for
academics
and
other
interested
parties
(Huszár,
Prónay,
&
Buzás,
2016).
Other
positive
consequences
would
be
enhanced
reputation
and
recognition
of
the
academics
inside
and
outside
their
scientific
communities
and
the
higher
education
sector
(1973,
Goethner,
Obschonka,
Silbereisen,
&
Cantner,
2012;
Merton,
1957;
Siegel,
Waldman,
Atwater,
&
Link,
2004),
their
improved
social
prestige
(Dietz
&
Bozeman,
2005),
their
high
self-confidence
(Jacob,
Hellström,
Adler,
&
Norrgren,
2000)
and
their
great
chances
for
further
collaboration
with
industry
to
solve
social
problems
(Perkmann
et
al.,
2013).
3.4.
Psychological
motives
Psychological
and
personality
factors,
which
are
themselves
affected
by
the
value
system
of
society
(Ta-Cheng,
1997),
make
up
another
category
of
motives
which
stimulate
the
academics’
entrepreneurial
intentions,
thereby
controlling
their
urges
for
entrepreneurship
activities
(Cantner,
Goethner,
&
Silbereisen,
2017).
Kauanui,
Thomas,
Rubens,
and
Sherman
(2010))
have
categorized
the
psychological
motives
into
intrinsic
(spiritual,
reli-
gious,
and
cultural)
and
extrinsic
(financial)
types.
Both
categories
involve
in
defining
human
behaviors
(Carsrud
&
Brännback,
2011),
although
some
scholars
(Carree
&
Verheul,
2012)
highlighted
the
higher
impacts
of
intrinsic
motives
(Lam,
2011).
People’s
cultural
and
religious
values
can
act
as
motives
for
their
entrepreneurship
activities
(Morris
&
Schindehutte,
2005).
To
satisfy
their
religious
and
spiritual
needs,
entrepreneurs
create
new
firms
and
improve
their
growth
and
development
(Kinjerski
&
Skrypnek,
2004).
They
can
also
integrate
their
morals
and
values
into
the
working
environments
(Silk,
2007)
and
share
their
personal
values
with
their
colleagues
(Kauanui,
Thomas,
Sherman,
Waters,
&
Gilea,
2008;
Pio,
2010).
Setting
up
a
new
business
to
promote
reli-

166
A.
Babakhan
et
al.
/
European
Research
on
Management
and
Business
Economics
26
(2020)
164–173
Table
1
Typologies
of
academics
based
on
their
tendency
to
work
with
industry
(Lam,
2010).
Beliefs
about
academia
and
industry
boundary
Extent
and
modes
of
engagement
with
industry
Main
motivating
factors
Perceived
legitimacy
of
commercialization
Boundary
work
strategies
and
role
identities
Boundary
work
strategies
and
role
identities
Type
I
‘Traditional’
believes
academia
and
industry
should
be
distinct
and
pursue
success
strictly
in
academic
arena
some
collaborative
links
but
of
an
intermittent
nature
Mainly
to
obtain
funding
and
resources
for
research
Resistance
seen
as
an
assault
on
academic
ethos
and
autonomy
Boundary
separation
and
expulsion
-Retain
extant
academic
role
identity
-
Type
II
‘Traditional
hybrid’
believes
academia
and
industry
should
be
distinct,
but
also
recognizes
the
need
to
collaborate
mainly
collaborative
links
with
intermittent
involvement
in
some
commercial
activities
-Funding
and
resources
for
research
most
important
amongst
other
factors
Accommodation
-not
necessarily
desirable
but
an
inevitable
development
-Boundary
testing
and
maintenance
-Retain
and
protect
dominant
academic
identity
Type
III
‘Entrepreneurial
hybrid’
believes
in
the
fundamental
importance
of
science-business
collaboration
but
recognizes
the
need
to
maintain
boundary
continuous
engagement
in
a
range
of
collaborative
and
commercial
activities
Funding
and
resources
for
research
most
important
Application/exploitation
of
research,
knowledge
exchange
and
professional
networking
also
important
Incorporation
and
cooptation
-pursue
commercialization
but
not
all
its
associated
meanings
Boundary
negotiation
and
expansion
-Hybrid
roles
but
retain
strong
focal
academic
identity
Type
IV
‘Entrepreneurial’
-believes
in
the
fundamental
importance
of
science-business
collaboration
continuous
engagement
in
a
range
of
collaborative
and
commercial
activities
strong
commercial
ties
with
firms
Application/exploitation
of
research
most
important
-Funding
and
resources
for
research,
knowledge
exchange
and
professional
networking
also
important
-personal
pecuniary
gains
also
relevant
Acceptance
and
Veneration
commercial
practices
embedded
in
work
routines
Boundary
inclusion
and
fusion
-Fuse
dual
role
identities
gious
values
is
in
fact
a
way
to
express
one’s
thanks
to
God
(Morris
&
Schindehutte,
2005),
and
financially
support
people
in
need
(Balog
et
al.,
2014)
and
their
employees
who
need
a
job
to
earn
a
living
(Kauanui
et
al.,
2008).
4.
Research
framework
For
a
comprehensive
analysis
of
academic
researchers’
spiritual
and
religious
motives
for
entrepreneurship
activities,
we
employed
Lam’s
(2010)
typology
as
well
as
Fitrah
Tendencies
framework
whose
bases
are
Islamic
teachings
that
do
not
distinguish
Mus-
lims
from
non-Muslims
(Rafiei
Atani,
2018).
The
choice
of
the
Fitrah
framework
was
because
of
the
belief
that
in
addition
to
their
materialistic
side,
all
human
beings
take
advantage
of
a
number
of
common
spiritual
motives
that
constitute
their
natural
human
disposition
for
initiating
their
activities
(2013,
Ghafoorinezhad,
2010;
Javadi
Amoli,
2007).
The
framework
consists
of
the
following
dimensions:
1
The
search
for
truth:
Man
has
the
desire
to
continuously
learn,
acquire
new
knowledge,
find
answers
to
their
intrinsic
curiosities,
and
understand
the
wisdom
underlying
the
worldly
phenomena.
The
highest
level
of
this
desire
manifests
itself
in
the
form
of
their
urge
to
know
God
and
His
creatures
(Mutahhari,
2013;
Shah
Abadi,
1981).
2
Profit-mindedness:
Man
intends
to
maximize
their
economic,
commercial,
and
personal
interests.
Hence,
they
try
to
avoid
losses
and
eliminate
any
factors
that
endanger
their
interests.
Based
on
Islamic
teachings,
the
greatest
benefits
come
when
man
builds
a
better
relationship
with
God
and
obtain
His
con-
sent
(Mutahhari,
2011).
3
The
urge
for
power:
Man
has
a
tendency
to
exercise
influence
over
others.
That
is
why
they
are
after
taking
on
leadership
roles,
receiving
other
people’s
respect,
achieving
a
higher
social
sta-
tus,
etc..
According
to
the
verses
of
the
Qur’an,
the
main
source
of
power
is
God
and
divine
satisfaction
will
guarantee
the
invin-
cibility
of
man
(Shah
Abadi,
1981).
4
Seeking
joy
and
welfare:
Man
searches
for
happiness,
peace,
and
pleasure.
According
to
Islamic
principles,
the
highest
level
of
pleasure
comes
from
spiritual
and
moral
activities
that
are,
indeed,
in
line
with
the
commands
of
God
(Shah
Abadi,
1981).
5
The
desire
for
freedom:
Man
puts
efforts
into
reducing
the
nega-
tive
effects
of
external
forces
on
their
lives.
They
have
a
desire
for
freedom
and
are
willing
to
act
autonomously.
Based
on
Islamic
teachings,
it
is
impossible
to
obtain
freedom
without
keeping
one’s
mind
focused
on
God
Who
is
present
in
the
lives
of
pious
people,
for
they
show
autonomous
behaviors
and
resist
against
evil
temptations
(Musavi
Khomeini,
2007;
Mutahhari,
2011).
6
The
desire
for
beauty:
Man
is
interested
in
order,
purity,
pro-
portion,
art,
poetry,
and
music.
The
more
spiritual
the
beauties
are,
the
more
appealing
they
are
to
human
beings
(Mutahhari,
1994).
7
The
willingness
to
worship
God:
Man
has
the
desire
to
respect
people
who
possess
salient
characteristics.
God
is
at
the
highest
level
of
perfection,
and
if
humans
keep
their
minds
focused
on
God,
their
willingness
to
worship
Him
and
accept
His
divine
commands
will
increase
(Musavi
Khomeini,
1992).
8
The
passion
for
immortality:
Being
aware
of
death
as
a
definite
phenomenon
for
all
creatures,
man
tries
to
increase
their
lifes-
pan,
and
maintain
a
good
name
in
the
society
where
they
live
(Mutahhari,
1998).
9
Feelings
of
love
and
admiration:
Man
has
the
tendency
to
express
love
and
respect
for
others
such
as
their
family
and
even
animals.
Their
patience
and
compassion
towards
others
is
also
manifested
in
their
behaviors.
The
love
that
aims
at
achiev-

A.
Babakhan
et
al.
/
European
Research
on
Management
and
Business
Economics
26
(2020)
164–173
167
Ten tendencies embedded in
Fitrah Framework
The search for truth
Profit-mindedness
The urge for power
Seeking joy and
welfare
The desire for free
dom
The desire for beauty
The willingnessto
worship God
The passion for
immortality
Feelings of love
and admiration
The desire for moral
virtues
Fig.
1.
The
Fitrah
framework.
ing
God’s
satisfaction
and
spiritual
goals
is
extremely
valuable
(Mutahhari,
2014).
10
The
desire
for
moral
virtues:
Man
shows
interest
in
positive
qualities
such
as
honesty,
justice,
and
consequently
altruism
as
the
highest
level
of
moral
development
(Mutahhari,
1994).
Considering
these
more
or
less
permanent
human
qualities
(Fig.
1),
we
deductively
analyzed
the
decision-making
acts
of
tradi-
tional
(T),
traditional
hybrid
(TH),
entrepreneurial
hybrid
(EH),
and
entrepreneurial
(E)
academics.
5.
Research
methodology
To
gain
insights
into
the
academics’
motives
for
entrepreneur-
ship
activities
and
extend
the
previously
proposed
theories,
an
exploratory
qualitative
study
was
conducted
based
on
semi-
structured
interviews.
Participants
of
the
study
were
the
promising
young
members
of
Iran’s
National
Elites
Foundation
(INEF)
-
an
organization
to
recruit
and
support
researchers
who
have
pub-
lished
scholarly
papers
in
internationally
acclaimed
journals.
The
interviewees
were
all
Muslim,
yet
this
could
not
skew
the
results,
as
the
Fitrah
framework
recognizes
as
equal
all
men
regardless
of
their
religion
and
culture
(Musavi
Khomeini,
2007).
In
other
words,
all
men
enjoy
the
above
10
innate
inclinations
and
try
to
simultane-
ously
satisfy
all
of
them
in
their
acts
of
decision
making.
As
different
factors
such
as
religion,
social
conditions,
and
education
can
lessen
or
improve
the
strength
of
these
innate
motives,
the
differences
among
human
beings
lie
in
the
intensity
of
their
motives,
with
no
one
deprived
of
them
(Rafiei
Atani,
2018).
For
example,
although
the
followers
of
Confucius
learn
to
reduce
their
self-interests,
(Ta-
Cheng,
1997),
they
can
never
eliminate
their
profit-mindedness.
As
INEF
does
not
make
its
database
accessible
to
the
public,
we
prevailed
on
one
of
the
INEF
members
with
expertise
in
elec-
tronic
engineering
to
participate
in
the
interview.
The
rest
of
the
interviewees
(i.e.,
61
academic
researchers)
were
selected
through
snowball
sampling
that
helped
us
find
participants
with
shared
characteristics
(Palinkas
et
al.,
2015).
In
the
invitation
letters,
the
potential
participants
(i.e.,
77
academic
researchers)
were
informed
about
the
purpose
of
the
study
and
the
confidentiality
of
their
responses.
As
Iranian
entrepreneurship
programs
focus
on
universities
of
science
and
technology
that
offer
engineering
courses
(Dutta,
Lanvin,
&
Wunsch-Vincent,
2016),
we
only
selected
the
participants
who
had
majored
in
science
and
engineering
fields
and
excluded
those
specialized
in
social
and
natural
sciences
(Arvanitis
et
al.,
2008;
Louis
et
al.,
1989;
Owen-Smith
&
Powell,
2001;
Stuart
&
Ding,
2006).
Table
2
presents
the
demographic
profiles
of
the
main
participants
To
select
and
classify
the
participants
into
different
groups
of
academic
researchers,
we
posed
some
preliminary
questions
based
on
the
following
motives
identified
by
Lam
(2010):
•Traditional
academics:
1)
writing
papers
and
publishing
books,
2)
conducting
research
for
the
sake
of
research
(i.e.,
basic
research),
and
3)
formulating
theories.
•Traditional
hybrid
academics:
1)
applying
research
outcomes,
and
2)
solving
industrial/
societal
problems
•Entrepreneurial
hybrid
academics:
1)
patenting,
2)
participating
in
commercialization
of
scientific
and
technological
develop-
ments,
and
3)
selling
their
technical
knowledge.
•Entrepreneurial
academics:
1)
development
of
NTBFs1,
and
2)
active
participation
in
commercialization
of
science
and
technol-
ogy.
Table
3
shows
how
the
interviewees
were
selected
and
clas-
sified:
As
no
specific
formula
has
been
introduced
for
calculating
sample
sizes
in
qualitative
studies,
we
interviewed
the
participants
up
to
the
point
of
data
saturation
where
no
further
information
could
be
added
to
the
obtained
data.
This
point
corresponded
to
the
13th,
14th,
12th,
and
10th
interviews
that
could
help
us
come
up
with
the
underlying
themes
of
T,
TH,
EH,
and
E
groups
respectively.
It
should
be
noted,
however,
that
the
overall
number
of
intervie-
wees
(i.e.,
62)
was
more
than
the
sum
of
these
figures
(i.e.,
13
+
14
+
12
+
10
=
49),
as
experts
suggested
continuing
the
interviews
to
ensure
that
the
data
had
not
been
saturated
by
accident.
Prior
to
the
interview
sessions,
a
list
of
three
questions
for
each
group
of
the
participants
was
prepared
(Fig.
2).
However,
as
the
interviews
went
on,
further
questions
were
raised
to
figure
out
what
the
interviewees
really
meant
by
their
responses.
After
anal-
yses
of
the
interviewees’
responses,
their
extracted
motives
were
integrated
into
their
corresponding
themes
in
the
Fitrah
frame-
work.
It
took
about
45
min
to
hold
each
audio-recorded
interview
ses-
sion.
Then,
we
prepared
the
audio
scripts
and
performed
selective
coding
to
check
if
the
extracted
themes
corresponded
to
the
defined
layers
of
the
Fitrah
framework.
Table
4
examples
of
selective
coding:
5.1.
Validity
of
the
instrument
The
interview
questions
revolved
around
commercialization
of
research,
religious
motives
of
the
academic
researchers,
and
their
preferred
research
methods.
To
ensure
the
content
validity
of
the
interview
questions,
a
panel
of
8
experts
including
2
academics
specialized
in
each
of
the
dimensions
of
the
interviews
checked
the
developed
questions,
suggested
some
changes
in
the
order
and
wording
of
the
questions,
and
taught
the
interviewer
how
to
man-
age
vague
or
irrelevant
responses
of
the
interviewees.
2Iran
University
of
Science
and
Technology
(IUST)
3Sharif
University
of
Technology
(SUT)
4Amirkabir
University
of
Technology
(AUT)
5Khajeh
Nasir
Toosi
University
OF
Technology
(KNTU)
6University
of
Tehran
(UT)
7University
of
Kashan
(UK)
8Information
and
Communication
Technology
(ICT)
9Tarbiat
Modares
University
(TMU)
10 Shahid
Beheshti
University
(SBU)
1New
Technology
Based
Firm
(NTBF)

168
A.
Babakhan
et
al.
/
European
Research
on
Management
and
Business
Economics
26
(2020)
164–173
Table
2
Info
of
interviewees.
No.
of
interviewees
Scientific
discipline
Grade
(No.)
University
(No.)
Traditional
group
8
Electronic
Eng. PhD
student
(5),
MSc
(2),
MSc
student
(1) IUST2(3),
SUT3(2),
AUT4(1),
KNTU5(2)
4
Computer
Eng.
PhD
student
(3),
MSc
student
(1)
SUT
(2),
UT6(1),
IUST
(1)
3
Chemistry
PhD
student
(3)
UT
(2),
AUT
(1)
2
Mechanical
Eng.
PhD
student
(1),
MSc
(1)
SUT
(1),
IUST
(1)
Traditional
hybrid
group
4
Mechanical
Eng.
PhD
student
(2),
MSc
student
(2)
SUT
(1),
UT
(3)
5
Metallurgical
Eng.
Postdoctoral
researcher
(1),
PhD
(2),
MSc
(2)
IUST
(2),
UK7(2),
KNTU
(1)
5
Electronic
Eng. PhD
student
(2),
PhD
(1),
MSc
student
(1),
MSc
(1) AUT
(3),
SUT
(2)
3
Software
Eng.
PhD
(1),
PhD
student
(2)
AUT
(1),
UT
(2)
Entrepreneurial
hybrid
group
4
Biotechnology
PhD
student
(4)
UT
(4)
5
ICT8MSc
(2),
MSc
student
(1),
PhD
student
(2)
UT
(2),
SUT
(2),
IUST
(1)
3
Metallurgical
Eng.
MSc
(2),
PhD
student
(1)
IUST
(2),
AUT
(1)
3
Mechanical
Eng.
PhD
student
(2),
PhD
(1)
SUT
(1),
TMU9(2)
Entrepreneurial
group
4
Biotechnology
PhD
student
(3),
PhD
(1)
UT
(2),
SBU10 (2)
6
ICT
MSc
(4),
MSc
student
(1),
PhD
student
(1) UT
(2),
SUT
(2),
AUT
(1),
IUST
(1)
3
Mechanical
Eng.
MSc
student
(1),
MSc
(2)
KNTU
(1),
UK
(1),
AUT
(1)
Table
3
Selection
and
Classification
of
the
Interviewees.
Question
Answer
Motivation
for
relationship
with
industry
Group
Are
you
interested
in
engaging
in
industrial
activities?
if
so,
what
objectives
do
you
pursue
in
your
relationship
with
the
industry?
Considering
the
new
subjects
and
issues
in
NTBF
of
the
electronic
industry,
there
exists
a
suitable
opportunity
for
publishing
joint
projects
with
R
&
D
professionals
of
the
companies.
writing
papers
and
publishing
books T
The
poor
facilities
and
equipment
of
the
universities
do
not
allow
us
to
do
technical
tests
and
operationalize
theoretical
studies
on
a
small
scale.
However,
better
results
can
be
obtained
in
the
industrial
sector.
applying
research
outcomes
TH
For
commercialization
of
my
inventions,
I
myself
must
do
something.
Because
I
have
the
required
technical
knowledge
for
this
invention,
and
of
course
I
should
get
help
from
the
rest
of
the
professionals
and
teams
especially
regarding
marketing
and
management
of
technology.
participating
in
commercialization
of
scientific
and
technological
developments
EH
Considering
current
Iranian
market’s
good
opportunities
for
commercialization
of
raw
materials
in
pharmaceutical
industry,
I
prefer
to
start
entrepreneurship
by
establishing
NTBF.
development
of
a
NTBF
E
Table
4
Examples
of
the
relationships
between
the
selected
codes
and
layers
of
the
Fitrah
framework.
Defined
layers
of
the
Fitrah
Framework
Codes
(C)
Searching
for
truth
Profit-
mindedness
The
urge
for
power
Seeking
joy
and
welfare
Feelings
of
love
and
admiration
The
passion
for
immor-
tality
The
desire
for
freedom
The
desire
for
beauty
The
willingness
to
worship
God
The
desire
for
moral
virtues
The
need
for
fully
understanding
God
•
Achieving
a
higher
social
status
•
Testing
and
implementing
theories
•
Accessing
to
up-to-date
equipment
•
The
desire
for
doing
good
deeds
•
Building
a
prestigious
reputation
•
The
felt
freedom
in
economic
environments
•

A.
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on
Management
and
Business
Economics
26
(2020)
164–173
169
Traditional
•What motivated you to engage in industry?
•To what extent could your research qu
esti
ons be add
ress
ed through
engagment in indu
stry?
•Did you have access to the required equipment for conducting your projects?
Traditional
Hybrid
•What motivated you to engage in industry?
•To what extent could your connection with industry help you identify hot research topics?
•To what extent could your connection with industry facilitate implementation of your research
findings in the real world context?
•Did you have any economic motives to engage in industry? if so, what?
Entrepr
eneurial
Hybrid
•What motivated you to engage in indu
stry?
•Did you have any economic motives to engage in industry? if so, what?
•To what extent could the curr
ent ec
onomi
c and academic sit
uati
on of Iran motivate you to
participate in indu
stry?
Entrepr
eneurial
•What motivated you to engage in industry?
•Did you have any ec
onomi
c moti
ves to engage in indu
stry? if so, what?
•To what extent could the curr
ent ec
onomi
c and academic sit
uati
on of Iran motivate you to
participate in indu
stry?
•To what extent has the prevail
ing academi
c condit
ions and rules of Iran stim
ulated your
connecti
on wit
h indu
stry?
Fig.
2.
English
Translation
of
Interview
Questions.
5.2.
Reliability
of
the
coding
To
ensure
the
reliability
of
the
coding,
the
same
rater
re-
analyzed
34%
of
the
transcripts
three
weeks
after
the
first
coding.
The
results
showed
acceptable
(i.e.,
≥
60
%;
McHugh,
2012)
levels
of
agreement
(79,
72,
70,
and
81
%
corresponding
to
T,
TH,
EH,
and
E
groups,
respectively)
between
the
first
and
second
coding
of
the
data.
To
reduce
the
coder’s
bias,
an
inter-coder
reliability
analysis
was
also
performed,
during
which
a
second
coder’s
fair
(i.e.,
60
%)
agreement
was
obtained
after
his
analysis
of
26%
of
the
first
coder’s
already
analyzed
transcripts.
6.
Results
and
discussion
Based
on
the
themes
extracted
from
the
interviews,
this
section
is
divided
into
four
parts
to
present
the
findings
and
address
the
research
questions
of
the
study.
Research
question
1:
Which
motivational
factors
encourage
traditional
academics
to
engage
in
industry?
Analysis
of
the
interviews
(Table
5)
showed
that
“searching
for
truth”
(51%),
“profit-mindedness”
(33%),
and
“seeking
joy
and
welfare”
(6%)
are
the
key
motives
of
traditional
academics
for
entrepreneurship
activities.
This
group
mainly
looked
for
opportu-
nities
to
understand
the
complexities
of
the
universe
and
increase
the
depth
of
their
knowledge
about
the
worldly
phenomena.
According
to
one
of
the
interviewees,
“Understanding
the
complex
layers
of
the
universe
and
its
socio-
economic
systems
is
appealing
to
me.
When
I
understand
the
scientific
facts
and
the
wisdom
underlying
the
worldly
phenom-
ena,
I
come
to
feel
an
inner
sense
of
pleasure
and
joy.
That
makes
me
stay
more
focused
on
the
research
process
than
its
products
and
applications.”
The
identified
motives
support
the
scholars’
(Hagstrom,
1965;
Lam,
2011)
accounts
concerning
the
traditional
academics’
ten-
dency
to
explore
hot
research
topics,
and
conduct
further
studies
to
thoroughly
analyze
scientific
issues
and
satisfy
their
curiosity
about
the
main
causes
of
the
phenomena.
These
findings
further
suggest
that
the
traditional
academics’
motives
were
mainly
of
intrinsic
type.
Examples
of
the
available
evidence
included
the
intervie-
wees’
expressed
joy
of
achieving
knowledge
(Meyer-Krahmer
&
Schmoch,
1998),
their
increased
interest
in
finding
solutions
to
the
problems
(Perkmann
&
Walsh,
2008),
and
also
their
desire
for
shar-
ing
their
findings
with
others
(Murray,
2004)
and
exploring
and
exploiting
the
world’s
mysteries
and
beauties
(Mubarak,
Rahman,
&
Yaacob,
2014).
Further,
closely
consistent
with
Islamic
teachings
(Mutahhari,
2015;
Tabataba’i,
1987)
were
the
interviewees’
state-
ments
regarding
the
importance
of
taking
the
world
as
a
divine
creation
to
direct
their
studies
towards
a
full
understanding
of
God.
The
second
highest
ranking
motives
(36%)
of
the
traditional
aca-
demics
incorporated
extrinsic
factors
such
as
financial
sources
of
funding
for
their
scientific
projects.
For
example,
one
of
the
inter-
viewees
stated
that:
I
enjoy
the
pursuit
of
knowledge.
Sometimes,
we
are
caught
up
in
Plato’s
so-called
cave.
We
are
too
drowned
in
our
thoughts
to
notice
our
surrounding
changes
and
opportunities.
To
avoid
this,
we
need
to
experience
new
contexts.
When
we
interact
with
the
stakeholders
in
the
industry
and
get
their
comments,
we
may
identify
the
gaps
of
which
we
had
been
ignorant.
The
craftsmen
can
also
listen
to
our
opinions
and
provide
us
with
facilities
and
opportunities
to
test
our
theories
in
real
contexts.
My
friends,
instructors
and
I
have
had
contact
with
industrial
stakehold-

170
A.
Babakhan
et
al.
/
European
Research
on
Management
and
Business
Economics
26
(2020)
164–173
Table
5
The
Extracted
Themes
and
Their
Related
Percentages.
Academic
researchers
The
search
for
truth
Profit-
mindedness
The
urge
for
power
Seeking
joy
and
welfare
Feelings
of
love
and
admiration
The
passion
for
immor-
tality
The
desire
for
freedom
The
desire
for
beauty
The
willingness
to
worship
God
The
desire
for
moral
virtues
T
51
33
3
6
2
1
0
1
0
0.6
TH
23
42
10
3
14
2
0
0
0.7
3
EH
1.8
40
0
2
45
0.9
0
0
0
9
E
0
56
0
0
28
0.8
8
0
0
6.8
Total
21
42
3
3
21
1
1
0.4
0.2
4.6
Note.
T:
Traditional
Academics;
TH:
Traditional
Hybrid
Academics;
EH:
Entrepreneurial
Hybrid
Academics;
E:
Entrepreneurial
Academics.
ers
who
have
shown
interest
in
our
projects
and
financially
supported
them.
The
interviewees
further
talked
of
establishing
the
U-I
links
as
a
way
to
improve
their
social
status
(Stuart
&
Ding,
2006)
and
aca-
demic
rank
(O’shea,
Allen,
Chevalier,
&
Roche,
2005),
maintain
a
good
name
in
the
society
after
their
death,
have
access
to
up-to-date
equipment
for
testing
and
implementing
their
theories
(Acworth,
2008;
Arza,
2010;
Santoro,
2000),
take
advantage
of
the
univer-
sity
incentives
such
as
grants
(Bozeman
&
Gaughan,
2007),
and
eliminate
the
public
pressure
for
solving
social
problems
(Liefner
&
Schiller,
2008).
Altogether,
this
latter
finding
confirms
earlier
reports
(Ryan
&
Deci,
2000)
on
the
strong
effects
of
external
factors
on
people’s
urges
for
taking
up
new
activities.
Research
question
2:
Which
motivational
factors
encourage
traditional
hybrid
academics
to
engage
in
industry?
Unlike
their
traditional
counterparts,
the
traditional
hybrid
aca-
demics
expressed
their
great
willingness
to
carry
out
applied
research
(76%),
which
was
generally
directed
by
three
innate
urges
namely
their
“urge
for
power”
(10%),
“searching
for
truth”
(23%)
and
“profit-mindedness”
(42%).
According
to
the
interviewees’
accounts