An Empirical Study on Sustaining Entrepreneurial Behaviour in

University Enterprises in the People’s Republic of China

K.F. Chan and T. Lau, Department of Management,

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Abstract

A number of models of entrepreneur motivations are proposed in the

literature. The variables used in explaining entrepreneurial behaviour
in the process of new business creation can also be applied in the
study of entrepreneurial behaviour within organizations. Building on
the integrated model of entrepreneur motivation, this paper proposes
a modified model for sustaining entrepreneurial behaviour within the
organization and reports the results of testing this specific model in an
empirical study of Chinese managers in university enterprises in the
People's Republic of China (PRC). The analyses suggest that managers'
entrepreneurial behaviour can be predicted by the managers' personal
entrepreneur characteristics, the organization's requirement with
regard to entrepreneurial behaviour and the types of rewards
expected. Surprisingly, expectancy motivation forces, such as the
implementation-to-outcome relationship and the expectation-to-
outcome relationship, are not significant in explaining managers'
entrepreneurial behaviour in the case of Chinese university
enterprises, implying that contextual variables and environment
variables must be taken into account when applying the
entrepreneurship motivation models.