Traits of university professors associated with an entrepreneurial advisor profile

Abstract

Higher education outreach programs are one of the substantive functions of higher education institutions, since they allow institutions to be engaged with the economic, productive and social context through the active participation of teachers. Among the most common forms of outreach programs are business incubators and project consulting in entrepreneurial events and science competitions, where ideas for new products or services are evaluated and the student is guided through the business start-up. The objective of this research was to identify whether some traits of university teachers are associated with their involvement in entrepreneurship activities. An exploratory and cross-sectional work was carried out supported by statistical analysis, using binary logistic regression with the SPSS program. A predictive model of teachers’ involvement in entrepreneurship activities was tested based on their knowledge and research work. Teachers who conducted scientific research were 6 times more likely to be involved in entrepreneurship activities than those who did not; likewise, it was found that teachers who had knowledge of entrepreneurship were 23 times more likely to be involved in such activities than those who did not have such knowledge. Fourteen teachers were identified as having a complete profile of entrepreneurship consultants and another five had a partial profile. Factors such as gender, training and computer proficiency of the teachers were not associated with the target profile. University professors who actively participated in entrepreneurial activities were those who had knowledge or experience in this field, above those who only carried out research. Institutional actions that favor the development of entrepreneurial skills and abilities in professors and researchers are recommended, to foster an educational culture of entrepreneurship and innovation that may enable economic growth.