This paper critically reviews the ethical resonance of the academic entrepreneurship (AE) phenomenon in light of contemporary concerns about ethics and responsibility in public engagements with science, technology and the commercialisation of technological discoveries through the creation of university spin-offs. In this context, we address the question of how we can know when we may consider AE as being ethical. We draw on the works on ethics of the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur ̶ one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century ̶ to provide an answer which encompasses but also goes beyond the association of ethics solely with ‘good’ purposes or ‘right’ norms to value it in each situation by paying special attention to how academic entrepreneurs behave in their relationships with others. We conclude that it is the manner and quality of open, generous, meaningful and appropriate ‘self-regulation’ that defines academic entrepreneurs as ethical individuals. The paper helps to improve the understanding of ethics in this field and may also illuminate academic entrepreneurs and university policymakers seeking to improve qualitative outcomes in university spin-offs.

本文根据当代对公众参与科学、技术以及通过创建大学副产品将技术发现商业化的道德和责任的担忧，批判性地回顾了学术创业（AE）现象的伦理共鸣。在这种情况下，我们要解决的问题是，我们如何知道何时可以认为 AE 是合乎道德的。我们借鉴法国哲学家保罗·利科（二十世纪最有影响力的思想家之一）的伦理学著作，提供了一个答案，该答案包含但又超越了道德与“良好”目的或“正确”规范的联系。通过特别关注学术企业家在与他人的关系中的表现来在每种情况下重视它。我们的结论是，正是开放、慷慨、有意义和适当的“自我监管”的方式和质量将学术企业家定义为有道德的个人。该论文有助于提高对该领域道德的理解，也可能为寻求提高大学衍生品质量成果的学术企业家和大学政策制定者提供启发。