A Tension Lens for Understanding Entrepreneurship-Related Activities in the University

How do individuals drive entrepreneurship-related activities in the university? Using a tension lens, this paper explores how academic and non-academic staff who teach, practice and support entrepreneurship in two Canadian universities manage tensions associated with entrepreneurship-related activities, and how individuals’ tension management influences these activities in university settings. We draw on three theoretical perspectives (contingency, paradox, and dialectic) on tension and tension management, and on data obtained through interviews to analyze two tensions that individuals’ experience: the reward tension that manifests as misalignment between reward systems and individuals’ entrepreneurship-related activities; and the resource tension that demonstrates as a struggle to do more with less. Individuals’ decisions to search for new rewards or resources or to make the best use of existing policies and resources often depend on their employment status, the availability of assistants, and the type of entrepreneurship-related activities engaged.