Perceived leadership styles, entrepreneuiral orientation and commercialization of university research

Abstract

New leadership in higher education focuses on the development and integration of entrepreneurial activities within existing higher education systems. However, there is a lack of research on how leadership and entrepreneurial orientation can influence commercialization activities in higher education institutions in Malaysia. Using resource based view theory, this study investigated the perceived leadership styles and entrepreneurial orientation among academic researchers in commercialization of research. The study further investigated the moderating role of Technology Transfer Office (TTO) and mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation in the relationship between leadership styles and commercialization of academic research. A mixed method research design was applied to provide triangulation of data obtained from five Malaysian research universities. Data was collected through survey questionnaire from a sample of 223 academic staff and interviews with 12 faculty deans and TTO managers, in relation to leadership styles, entrepreneurial orientation, TTO and university research commercialization. The results of the study revealed a direct relationship of transformational and transactional leadership styles with commercialization of academic research. In addition, entrepreneurial orientation has significant influence on the commercialization of academic research. Besides that, TTO moderates the relationship between leadership, entrepreneurial orientation and commercialization. Entrepreneurial orientation significantly mediates the relationship between leadership styles and commercialization. Qualitative results verified the findings of the quantitative data. The findings of the research signify the importance of leadership and entrepreneurial orientation for enhancing commercialization of research in Malaysian research universities. Finally, this study suggests that future research can explore the concept of university commercialization in different context.