Entrepreneurial Motivations, Entrepreneurial Persistence, and Academic Entrepreneurship Performance: Moderating Effects of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Institutions and Female Entrepreneurs

What influences the success of academic entrepreneurship? Drawing on the motivation theory, this study investigates the effects of entrepreneurial intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on entrepreneurial persistence and consequently academic entrepreneurship performance with the moderating roles of female entrepreneurs and innovation and entrepreneurship support institutions analyzed. To test these effects, we used hierarchical regression with data collected from 211 academic entrepreneurs at Chinese universities. We find that entrepreneurial intrinsic motivation increases (but extrinsic motivation decreases) entrepreneurial persistence, which also mediates their effects on the academic entrepreneurship performance. The positive relationship between entrepreneurial intrinsic motivation and entrepreneurial persistence is strengthened for female entrepreneurs. Innovation and entrepreneurship support institutions alleviate the negative effect of entrepreneurial extrinsic motivation on entrepreneurial persistence and enhances the positive effect of entrepreneurial persistence on academic entrepreneurship performance. This study contributes to the literature of academic entrepreneurship and motivation theory. Managers are advised to pay attention for these motivation aspects and the entrepreneurial persistence to bring academic entrepreneurship performance.