What drives university academics to be entrepreneurial?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify a 'healthy' academic setting that drives the entrepreneurial orientation of academics in an Australian business school. Design/ methodology/ approach: This paper adopts a constructivist paradigm to gain a new perspective in academic entrepreneurship considering the changing university landscape. A mixed method approach was used in analysing the data. Findings: The model developed indicates that a healthy academic setting builds a knowledge sharing environment and promotes increased entrepreneurial orientation of academics. Practical / social implications: The entrepreneurial orientation of academics can assist universities in adapting business models to face the challenges of the industry sector. Originality: Most studies on academic entrepreneurship are of a quantitative nature. This case study identified the key variables to assist entrepreneurism in terms of linking the innate attributes of individuals to the academic setting.