Shaping technology transfer and policy-oriented entrepreneurship research: Albert N. Link and Donald S. Siegel recipients of the 2026 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research

Professors Albert N. Link and Donald S. Siegel are the joint recipients of the 2026 Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research. Over several decades, their scholarship has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of how technology transfer, public policy, and institutional design influence entrepreneurial activity. Drawing on rigorous economic theory and quantitative methods, often combined with insights from management and public administration, they have established technology transfer as a core domain within entrepreneurship research. Their work demonstrates how universities, public research organizations, and government programs—most notably those shaped by the Bayh–Dole Act and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program—affect entrepreneurial entry, innovation, and growth. By shifting attention beyond the individual entrepreneur and firm to the surrounding institutional and policy environment, Link and Siegel broadened the analytical scope of the field and provided a foundation for evidence-based entrepreneurship policy. In parallel, their leadership in building scholarly communities, journals, and research networks has been instrumental in consolidating technology transfer and public sector entrepreneurship as vibrant research areas. Collectively, their contributions have advanced theory, informed policy design, and influenced practice, thereby leaving a lasting imprint on entrepreneurship research and its societal relevance.