Identification of entrepreneurial competencies of the faculty members of Iran's state universities (case study: Shahid Beheshti University)

This study purports to identify the entrepreneurial competencies of the faculty members of the Iran's state universities. For this purpose, 17 faculty members of the Shahid Beheshti University, sampled using a purposeful sampling procedure, were interviewed in a semi-structured interview and their enrepreneurial competencies were identified. After thematic analysis of the data a sum of 69 sub-competencies were identified and categorized into 9 major categories using focus group procedure. These entrepreneurial competencies included opportunity competency, commitment competency, communication competency, management competency, reconciliation competency and acting as both a faculty member and an entrepreneur, growth and development competency, business competency, sterategic competency, and technical-expertise competency. Adding to our knowledge on the academic entrepreneurship, the results of this study can also be of help to policy-makers in the development of educational policies and supportive policies with regard to academic entrepreneurship.