Determinants of entrepreneurial intention among researchers in Latin American universities: The Colombian case.

Although Academic Entrepreneurship (AE) is considered an engine of development and economic growth, the study of Latin American AEs and their Entrepreneurial Intentions (EI) is relatively new. The literature on the EI of academics is vast for high-income countries, while for the context of middle-income countries, literature and empirical research is scarce. In this paper, we want to address this research gap by drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior to answer the following research question: “What are the determinants of Academics´ EI in Colombia?”. We present preliminary results of a survey conducted among academics of 5 leading Colombian universities. Colombia is of particular interest for this research due to the post-conflict context and the recently introduced Spin-off Policy (June 2017). The Spin-Off Policy allows academics to participate in business activities and receive economic incentives while developing their usual research and teaching activities. As such, the results of this study allow us to gain insights in the dynamics of academics´ EI in Colombia after the introduction of the new Spin-off Policy. Our research findings allow for a better promotion of AE among Colombian academics and have policy implications for university managers, policy makers and funders.