The entrepreneurial journey of the academic entrepreneur and the contribution of technoparks and technology transfer offices in this journey: The example of TR83 region

Academic entrepreneurship is new initiatives taken to benefit from the results of research conducted by scientists from past to present. Today, this concept is to ensure cooperation between the university and the industry, to reveal the entrepreneurial spirit of academicians and graduate students, to take new initiatives and to commercialize these initiatives by receiving support from certain institutions. In many studies on academic entrepreneurship in the literature, the entrepreneurial intentions of entrepreneurial candidates have been questioned and the factors affecting this entrepreneurial intention have been investigated. In this study, the reasons why academicians who have decided to become entrepreneurs make this decision, the factors that affect their decisions at each stage in the entrepreneurship process, and the role of Technoparks and Technology Transfer Offices in this process are investigated. In this context, a process has been designed for technoentrepreneurship, which is a type of entrepreneurship to be carried out especially by academicians, and the status of entrepreneurial academics has been questioned in terms of the stages of this process. The research was carried out in Technopark companies in the provinces of Tokat, Samsun and Çorum, which are within the scope of the TR83 region. Interview questions were asked to the participants. As a result of the research, it was seen that the reasons why academicians become entrepreneurs largely depend on their personality, past experience and education. It has been revealed that Technoparks and technology transfer offices do not have much of a role in the decision to become an entrepreneur, other than the businesses established with the support of TÜBİTAK. The business idea is largely related to the academicians' own fields of study and is shaped according to market demands. It was also determined that entrepreneurs did not request support from Technopark and technology offices during their entrepreneurship process. The results were evaluated from a holistic perspective and suggestions were made to academics, Technopark and TTO in order to develop academic entrepreneurship. Key Words: Academic Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Intention, Technopark, Technology Transfer Offices