Knowledge transfer: de‐constructing the entrepreneurial academic

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illuminate motivations and “pull” factors of academics engaging in knowledge transfer (KT). Design/methodology/approach – In total, 15 in‐depth interviews were conducted with experienced, KT active (KTAs) academics to reveal their motivations and pull factors for engaging. Data were transcribed and submitted to template analysis to achieve qualitative conceptual “saturation”, from which a conjuctural analysis of conceptual relations was derived. Findings – From the data, seven thematic areas were inducted: values‐in‐practice, motivations and “buzz moments”, purposive activities, the academic context, the journey of the KTA, pedagogy and perceptions of risk. Research limitations/implications – The interview sample (12 males, three females) of active KTAs can be seen as a representative and authentic regional sample from the Midlands – who had carried out both teaching, research and KT aspects within their academic roles. In total, 120,000 words of dialogue were candidly reported, attesting to conceptual coherence. Practical implications – The results concur with some existing literature on conceptualising the KTA as an academic intrapreneur, but also highlight aspects of how this role conceptually differs from non‐KTA academics. This has implications for the recruitment, development and retention of KTAs, in addition to facilitating their roles in higher education institutions (HEIs). Originality/value – This paper constitutes a unique induction of a conceptual model for a relatively new economic and operational phenomenon in HEIs: the KTA. The paper contrasts with existing literature on the barriers and challenges to KTA work by emphasis on the positive and motivational aspects of the role.