Much of the existing research on PhD entrepreneurship is focused on Academic Spin-Offs (ASOs) within the parent institution’s formal intellectual property (IP) structure. Cross-level analysis of a survey administered to 23,500 PhD students in Italy shows the heterogeneity of PhD students’ entrepreneurial activities, which, in addition to ASOs, include start-ups, corporate spin-offs and other types of businesses. We examine the types of drivers that matter most for different forms of PhD entrepreneurial ventures. Our findings reveal two forces at play: a technology-push model where PhD students rely on IP and support from the parent university, and a demand-led model that involves support from industry and sources of external finance. This study highlights the strategic alignment among the determinants of PhD entrepreneurship at the micro, meso and macro levels. These determinants include the individual PhD student’s choices, the interactions with different stakeholders and reconciliation of the tensions represented by the organizational and institutional resources and infrastructures.

现有的大部分关于博士创业的研究都集中在母机构正式知识产权 (IP) 结构内的学术衍生品 (ASO)。对意大利 23,500 名博士生进行的一项调查的跨层次分析表明，博士生创业活动存在异质性，除了 ASO 之外，还包括初创企业、企业衍生品和其他类型的企业。我们研究了对于不同形式的博士创业企业最重要的驱动因素类型。我们的研究结果揭示了两种力量在发挥作用：一种是技术推动模式，其中博士生依赖知识产权和母校的支持；另一种是需求主导模式，涉及行业和外部融资来源的支持。这项研究强调了博士创业决定因素在微观、中观和宏观层面上的战略一致性。这些决定因素包括博士生个人的选择、与不同利益相关者的互动以及组织和机构资源和基础设施所代表的紧张关系的调和。