The Effect of Self-Monitoring on Academics? Engagement with Industry

According to self-monitoring theory, individuals differ in the extent to which they are willing and able to monitor and control their self-expression in social situations. Using data from a survey administered to 6,000 academics in physical sciences faculties in UK universities, this paper suggests that high self-monitoring individuals collaborate more with industry than their low self-monitoring colleagues, across a variety of channels of interaction. Furthermore, the influence of self-monitoring on researchers? collaboration activities is moderated by both individual and environmental characteristics. For high-status researchers who have already achieved high levels of visibility outside academia, the influence of their self-monitoring score is less pronounced. This applies also to academics who are extrinsically motivated in their jobs and who value tangible benefits. Individuals who operate in an environment that is very supportive of industrial engagement need to rely less on their self-monitoring profiles since opportunities are readily available to everyone.