Academic entrepreneurship in Hungary: Can the Bayh-Dole model of university technology transfer work in an Eastern European context?

Abstract

My purpose is to identify, examine, and synthesize the main factors that determine the ability of Hungarian higher education institutions to adopt the Bayh-Dole model of university technology transfer. I begin by discussing a set of fundamental questions, such as the various interpretations of the recent changes in the posture of institutions, the criticism of the novel approach to the role of universities in society, and the main causes behind the increasing entrepreneurial activity of institutions. I scrutinize the determinants of university entrepreneurship at three interrelated levels: national (governance model of universities), organizational (university culture), and personal (individual scientist). I conclude that, in Hungary, none of the three components of the proposed framework facilitates the entrepreneurial transformation of institutions in line with the Bayh-Dole model.