Thesis

Interaction of passion and identity and its influence on scientists' commercialization intention - a literature review

The interaction of role identity, social identity, and passion (dualistic and role-based approach) has recently been the subject of research (e.g., Powell et al., 2014; Pan et al., 2019), as both have a great influence on the behavior of individuals - e.g., entrepreneurial behavior - and mutually influence each other. The goal of combining the different perspectives here is to get a holistic view of the drivers of behavior. However, what has not been detailed in these views so far is an analysis of the impact of identity and passion on the commercialization intention of scientific employees. The goal of this thesis is to survey previous qualitative and quantitative research on the interaction of different forms of identity and passion, and to assess the applicability to the academic context and the commercialization of research in a literature-based manner.

The specific research question for the thesis can be worked out together. Possible examples for a systematic literature review would be:
- How do passion (dualistic and role-based) and identity (social, role, personal) interact? How is this specific to the academic context?
- Does the interaction influence commercialization intent?
- What role do university influencing factors play in this context?

What's in it for you?
- Ongoing personal mentoring and coaching
- In-depth insights into current research on this issue
- Contacts in the startup scene


Literature for initial reading:
Perkmann, Markus; Salandra, Rossella; Tartari, Valentina; McKelvey, Maureen; Hughes, Alan (2021): Academic engagement: A review of the literature 2011-2019. In Research Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2020.104114
Murnieks, Charles Y.; Cardon, Melissa S.; Haynie, J. Michael (2020): Fueling the fire: Examining identity centrality, affective interpersonal commitment and gender as drivers of entrepreneurial passion. In Journal of Business Venturing; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.10.007
Hayter, Christopher S.; Fischer, Bruno; Rasmussen, Einar (2021): Becoming an academic entrepreneur: how scientists develop an entrepreneurial identity. In Small Bus Econ, pp. 1–19. DOI: 10.1007/s11187-021-00585-3.
Pan, Nettra D.; Gruber, Marc; Binder, Julia (2019): Painting with All the Colors: The Value of Social Identity Theory for Understanding Social Entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Review DOI:10.5465/amr.2017.0504

Keywords: Passion, Social Identity, Role Identity, Commercialization intent, Academic Entrepreneurship