Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite the crucial role of university staff and especially faculty members in moving towards third-generation universities, as well as the necessity of staff empowerment, only a handful of studies have been carried out on staff (especially faculty member) empowerment. This study designed a conceptual model for empowering faculty members of universities of medical sciences and facilitating transition to third-generation universities. METHODS: The grounded theory approach was adopted to conduct this qualitative study. A total of 11 faculty members with entrepreneurial experience were selected as the sample using purposive sampling. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews, and the obtained data were entered into qualitative software (MAXQDA 10) for analysis. RESULTS: The concepts identified in the coding process were summarized and classified into five groups and seven main categories. Then the conceptual model was designed with a set of causal factors (including structure of the education system, recruitment, training, and investment), structure and context factors (including structure and relationship), intervening factors (including promotion and ranking systems in universities and lack of mutual trust between industry and university), a core category (characteristics of capable faculty members), and an outcome (third-generation university). Finally, the conceptual model was developed to empower faculty members of third-generation universities of medical sciences. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the designed conceptual model, the most important issue in moving towards third-generation universities is "characteristics of capable faculty members." The present findings will help policy makers better understand the major factors affecting faculty member empowerment.