Researchers by Day, Entrepreneurs by Night

Working as a researcher in entrepreneurship is only becoming more and more complex. It’s not just about teaching or producing knowledge anymore – it’s also about showing that your work has practical value. Universities are increasingly expecting academics to bridge the gap between ideas and impact, whether that means solving real-world problems, partnering with industries, or even launching start-ups. While this shift is exciting for some, for many it’s a tough balancing act. How do you stay true to your academic role while embracing the entrepreneurial side? 

This challenge is the focus of a recent paper by Inna Majoor-Kozlinska, Ulla Hytti, and Pekka Stenholm. As they explain, on one side there’s the academic world, with its focus on intellectual rigour, teaching, and publishing in peer-reviewed journals. On the other, there’s entrepreneurship, which values practical outcomes, innovation, and sometimes bending the rules to make things happen. The real issue here isn’t that researchers must turn their work into something useful, but that they’re increasingly expected to. And without the right support, they might feel overwhelmed, unsure of their place, or even pressured to retreat into a single identity – either sticking with traditional academic norms or going full entrepreneur.

The authors therefore explore the idea of a hybrid identity, where researchers see themselves as both academics and entrepreneurs, and it turns out this dual identity doesn’t just happen by chance; the paper finds that a researcher’s environment – specifically their university’s culture – plays a key role. 

First, universities need to actively support entrepreneurship. This can mean providing funding, offering training programmes, or creating policies that encourage innovation. These are like a safety net, making it easier for researchers to explore entrepreneurial paths without worrying that they’re stepping too far outside their academic role.