Academics are becoming accustomed to growing demands on ‘performance’ as universities place increasing emphasis on quantifiable research outputs. Despite the rapid ascendancy of bibliometrics, limited empirical research has considered the definitions of “research performance” employed by institutions, and subsequent academic responses. Drawing on exploratory data collected from 58 university-based colleagues in 23 countries, supplemented with the personal experiences of authors, this manuscript explores how institutions utilise bibliometrics, and how scholars adapt. Findings demonstrate a significant number of mechanisms utilised by institutions to assess research performance, postulating the emergence of forms of ‘academic entrepreneurship’, characterised by more and less ethical patterns of manipulation. A conceptual model of bibliometric engagement is presented, with implications for tourism and cognate disciplines.