Scientists often experience tensions in transforming their research ideas into products or services—a process known as technology transfer—such as identity conflict (e.g., identities as scientists vs. academic entrepreneurs) and mixed organizational support (e.g., support for its fundamental value vs. implementation process). These tensions have been viewed as obstacles to the promotion of technology transfer, due to their generally aversive nature. However, challenging this simplistic notion, we argue that under certain circumstances, such tensions can actually facilitate technology transfer. Drawing on ambivalence theory, we distinguish between two types of ambivalence, deep- and surface-level ambivalence, to predict that scientists experiencing intra-role identity conflict and mixed organizational support will develop deep- and surface-level ambivalence toward technology transfer, respectively. We expect these paradoxical tensions will be more impactful in individuals’ experience of ambivalence when technology transfer is more salient in the work environment. Further, we propose that an ambivalence-embracing mindset enables individuals to transform their ambivalence and paradoxical tensions into their actual engagement in technology transfer. Our results largely support our hypotheses. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
