Academic entrepreneurship: Challenges facing South Africa

Academic entrepreneurship in general implies ipso facto the involvement of academic staff in commercial activities in a system that builds on university-industry relations. In this relationship it is expected from industry to acquire knowledge from institutions of higher education and to utilize this knowledge in the innovation process. On the other hand, academic entrepreneurship also occurs within the national boundaries of a specific country possessing a distinct history and culture. In the case of South Africa, the entrepreneurial culture was build over more than three centuries, 1652 to 1994, on an institutionalized political system of racial segregation. True democracy was only achieved in April 1994 when South Africans saw the first-ever democratic vote and election in South Africa. This paper intends to analyze and evaluate the challenges of academic entrepreneurship for institutions of higher education in South Africa following a historical and survey research design approach. The results revealed that higher education institutions in South Africa, despite remarkable achievements, are still struggling to comply with the demands of the knowledge economy and in the enhancement of academic entrepreneurship.