SummaryThe empirical evidence devoted to analyze the impact of perceptual factors in explaining the differences in the entrepreneurial intention of men and women is still limited and not entirely conclusive (Shinnar et al., 2012; Wilson et al., 2009). This non-conclusive research is significantly more noteworthy when the analysis is focused on the entrepreneurial intention of men and women once they become entrepreneurs. Drawing on this gap and taking as starting point the premises of Social Feminist Theory, our paper aims to examine the mediating role of perceptual factors on the relationship between gender and entrepreneurial intention of non-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs. Drawing on a sample provided by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Project of 21,697 Spanish non-entrepreneurs and 2899 Spanish entrepreneurs, our results have shown that, in general terms, perceptual factor fully mediate the relationship between gender and the entrepreneurial intention of non-entrepreneurs, whereas such mediating impact disappears when people become entrepreneurs

Drawing on social cognitive career theory and institutional theory, we develop a multilevel and integrative model to examine the influence of entrepreneurial cognition factors (entrepreneurial self-efficacy and outcome expectations) on entrepreneurial opportunity recognition (EOR). We also consider the moderating effect of contextual factors (normative and regulatory dimensions) on the relationship between entrepreneurial factors and EOR. We use the information provided by both the Adult Population Survey of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project (2006–2016) and the Economic Freedom of the World 2018 Annual Report of the Fraser Institute. After combining both sources, we applied a multilevel analysis to a sample of 293,126 entrepreneurs from 97 countries. We found that self-efficacy and outcome expectations positively influence EOR. The regulatory and normative dimension positively moderates the relationship between self-efficacy and EOR, but the effects of outcome expectations on EOR are not reinforced by any institutional factors.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze potentially significant differences in a series of relevant characteristics of universities’ technology transfer offices (TTOs). To this end, TTOs have been classified by the function of their resources assigned to the enhancement of university entrepreneurship. The factors analyzed are the number of academic spin-offs created with the support of TTOs as well as the TTOs’ age, experience, professionalization and relational capital. Design/methodology/approach: The authors have performed a hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis to identify the groups of TTOs with homogeneous behavior and features. This multivariate technique allows determining whether it is possible to identify some differentiated conglomerates of TTOs. Findings: The results of the cluster analysis allow concluding that the number of academic spin-offs created with the support of TTOs, the age and degree of professionalization of these TTOs, the experiences of their employees in matters related to entrepreneurship and their relationships with market actors explain the different levels of commitment of TTOs toward the enhancement of university entrepreneurship. In contrast with the expected results, the relationship between TTOs and academic actors does not seem to explain such differences. Originality/value: This research contributes to the identification of the particular design characteristics that TTOs should exhibit to promote the entrepreneurial performance of universities, offering important recommendations to academic institutions regarding the efficient design of TTOs to manage university ambidexterity and to build TTOs’ entrepreneurial identity.