at CBS, Copenhagen, Denmark, Taste for Science, Taste for Commercialization, and Hybrid Scientists

Scientists who are willing to bridge?science? and?commerce? play an important role in the innovation process. However, our understanding of these individuals remains limited. Drawing on prior work that has emphasized scientists??taste for science?, we suggest that scientists can also be characterized with respect to their?taste for commercialization?. In our framework, scientists may have a strong taste for either science or commercialization (?traditional scientists? and?commercial scientists?), but can also have a strong interest in both (?hybrid scientists?) or neither (?other types?). Using data on over 4,000 junior scientists in a wide range of fields, we derive empirical measures of taste for science and taste for commercialization. Exploratory analyses show significant heterogeneity in scientist types across fields and organizations, consistent with both selection and socialization effects. Further analyses show that?hybrid scientists? ? those with a strong taste for both science and commercialization- exhibit a unique profile with respect to the nature of their research, patenting and publishing output, as well as career goals and entrepreneurial intentions. We discuss implications for future research as well as for policy makers, administrators, and managers seeking to foster hybrid and boundary spanning activities in various sectors of the economy. Jelcodes:O31,