A Study on the Impact of Academic Entrepreneurship on Basic Research

Abstract

The impact of academic entrepreneurship on basic research output has been widely debated, with disagreements arising from difficulties in collecting micro-level data and the limitations of traditional regression methods in addressing confounding factors beyond the "entrepreneurial identity" of academic entrepreneurs. To tackle these issues, we developed a large, multi-dimensional database of 13,762 science and engineering faculty members from 17 top universities in Shaanxi Province using computer-based data crawling techniques. By matching data on faculty research outputs and academic entrepreneurship activities, we applied propensity score matching (PSM) to examine the causal relationship between academic entrepreneurship and basic research output. Our findings indicate that academic entrepreneurship positively impacts the number of papers published annually, exploration of new knowledge, patent applications, and patent citations. These effects vary among faculty with different characteristics, suggesting a virtuous cycle between academic entrepreneurship and basic research. To foster scientific self-reliance, universities should encourage academic entrepreneurship, providing tailored support based on individual characteristics.