Sabrina Moretti University of Urbino sabrina.moretti@uniurb.it Francesco Sacchetti University of Urbino francesco.sacchetti@uniurb.it Introduction Since the 2000s, almost all Italian universities have adopted policies to encourage technology transfer activ- ities. So, a lot of academic spin-offs have been created by university professors and researchers in order to commercialize the results of their research. These companies work in the intersection between two organisational fields (Owen-Smith & Powell, 2008): the scientific research field and the business field. Objectives Our research is based on a case study: an Italian university spin-off working in the field of biotech- nology. The goal is to analyse how researchers working within a spin- off attempt to reconfigure their role – protecting and negotiating their positions, to give meaning to their professional identities – in response to the conflicts and contradictions that arise when they try to reconcile the logic of the market with those of the world of pure science. In this way it is possible to begin to define some relevant categories regarding the transition from academia to the business context. Methods Our research was conducted following a qualitative approach. It is based on observation and in-depth interviews. We analysed the practices within an organisation that establishes and promotes ambivalent and contradictory ties between the world of scientific research and that of business. Through the analysis of these practices we can identify the processes used by social actors to construct meaning (Weick, 1995; Browne & Duguid, 2001) during the transition from a purely academic context to a market-based one. Results The results show that the transition of the researchers from university to the spin-off was not really a choice as such, but rather a necessity due to the great difficulties encountered in continuing a university career. This initially created some discontent among the researchers, who considered the work in the spin- off less prestigious, but subsequently this alternative was made more attractive by its capacity to offer more incentives than the university could. The researchers of this spin-off have basically agreed to assume the role of “sellers”, and do not worry about re-negotiating and protecting their traditional position as scientists. The prestige attached to their role depends primarily on the ability to obtain partnerships with opinion leaders, and the work of publishing is functional to this goal. The problem of defining the boundaries between academic and market-oriented roles mainly concerns university researchers that work together with the spin- off, because they must adapt to the logics of “usable knowledge” and “protection of results”. This acceptance is stimulated by two factors: a) economic incentives and encouragement related to the evaluation processes, both internal and external to the university system; and b) social responsibility of scientists, incorporated as a new rule governing the academic system. I really like research work in academia, but you don’t have a real chance to access that career…: it is a question of being able to survive, and not of choosing the career you like best. …. Now, after the first few years [of the spin-off], we have the resources to do [complex] projects, and I really enjoy working here. And now I’m even in a stable job position as a full-time researcher. One must be able to imagine how this knowledge could become a utility, for instance, to cure a disease, to diagnose it, or to develop products more economically and ecologically.... This doesn’t mean that basic research is excluded, but this research is used instrumentally to understand complex phenomena. For us it is important that an opinion leader test this product… the appearance of the opinion leader’s name and yours in the experimental paper will increase the credibility of the product. Discussion The organisational structure of a spin-off depends on the opportunities arising from scientific results and technologies, the motivations of individual researchers and the university context. It is important to analyse and compare other case studies in order to find a typology of organisational forms. Bibliography  Owen-Smith J. & Powell W.W. (2008), “Networks and Institutions”, in R. Greenwood, C. Oliver, K. Sahlin & R. Suddaby (eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Institutionalism, New York, Sage.  Weick K.E. (1995), Sensemaking in Organizations,Thousand Oaks, Sage.  Brown, J. S. & Duguid P. (2001), “Knowledge and Organization: A Social Practice Perspective”, Organization Science, 12(2): 198-213.  Moro O. & Tanda A. (2014), “Finanziamento e performance delle nuove iniziative imprenditoriali: il caso degli spin-off di ricerca”, Impresa Progetto - Electronic Journal of Management. Numbers of Italian academic spin-offs per year (Moro & Tanda , 2014) SCIENTISTS OR SELLERS? WORK PRACTICES IN AN ACADEMIC SPIN-OFF