Entrepreneurial Universities In Innovation Seeking Countries

This book considers how an entrepreneurial university can improve the social and economic development of countries which are technologically underdeveloped, exploring university models in two moderately innovative countries: Spain and Croatia.

The book explores different approaches towards the ‘entrepreneurial university’ paradigm, explores channels and mechanism used by universities to implement the paradigm and contributes to the public discussion on the impact of commercialization on university research and knowledge. It argues that different types of university-industry interaction may have repercussions even on funding of basic research if an appropriate balance is ensured between the two. University activities – both research and education in all forms – should provide economic and social relevance directed towards open science and open innovation. This book adds value to current knowledge by presenting both a conceptual framework and case studies which describe different contexts.

This book analyses the importance of the entrepreneurial university, specifically in relation to the creation of entrepreneurial ideas and attitudes in students and entrepreneurial initiatives in academic institutions. The aim of the editors and contributing authors is to provide the reader with a set of experiences illustrating the advantages of communicating and encouraging entrepreneurship among students, thereby highlighting the “third mission” of the university: the need to adopt entrepreneurial strategy without disrupting the quality of teaching and research. Featuring initiatives from institutions around the world, the authors argue that the increasing importance of knowledge in the technical and social dimensions of today’s world provides greater relevance to the entrepreneurial university. In this context, universities transcend their traditional focus on teaching and basic research to carry out technology transfers, marketing ideas, and patent registrations, and incorporate spin-off companies that contribute to industrial innovations, economic growth, and job creation. In the teaching dimension, the entrepreneurial university represents a focus on programs which train students in the applications and most advanced practices in knowledge-driven fields. The book addresses such questions as: Can marketing ideas deteriorate the quality of research in the long term? What importance does the cultural framework have for an entrepreneurial education? What circumstances and programs facilitate spin-offs in universities What are the key features of entrepreneurial universities? In reference to entrepreneurship education in its broadest sense, then, it corresponds to the framework of ideas and general features on which entrepreneurship is founded: in-depth knowledge of the projects or ventures which they wish to carry out, capacity to perceive the relevant characteristics of the environment, and the leadership and goal setting skills to achieve success.

This book explores the idea of the ‘Entrepreneurial University’ within the institutional environment that focuses on the production, dissemination, and exploitation of knowledge. Keeping its gaze firmly on the constitutive elements of the knowledge-based institutional environment – the key actors and their interactions – the book makes important theoretical and empirical contributions to the burgeoning literature on academic entrepreneurship. The contributing chapters in the book draw insights from a range of disciplines including history, institutional and evolutionary economics, strategic management, entrepreneurship, and innovation studies to explore how institutions can create new business opportunities in turbulent times. This interdisciplinary approach has generated a rich and diverse set of insights on the idea of Entrepreneurial Universities for students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers interested in innovation and technology studies, entrepreneurship, and knowledge management.

With an increasing focus on the knowledge and service economies, it is important to understand the role that entrepreneurial universities play through collaboration in policy and, in turn, the impact they have on policy. The authors evaluate how universities engage with communities while also balancing stakeholder considerations, and explore how universities should be managed in the future to integrate into global society effectively.

The review examines how higher education institutions are supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in their surrounding communities. The study focuses on eleven universities located in six countries in Latin America: Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

This book aims to contribute to the understanding and evaluation of the processes through which innovative knowledge is created and translated to entrepreneurial technological advantage in higher education institutions. The chapters included in this edited volume discuss new trends related to the impact of policies on innovation and entrepreneurial activity in universities, by providing a variety of insights from both an individual and an institutional perspective and with reference to a number of different contexts and units of analysis. The integration of both qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as the multidisciplinary approach that characterizes this volume makes it possible to provide an in-depth understanding of today’s dynamics. The volume will be of relevance to scholars, students and researchers interested in Entrepreneurship, Higher Education, Economics and Technology Management. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Industry & Innovation.

Global recessions and structural economic shifts are motivating government and business leaders worldwide to increasingly look to "their" universities to stimulate regional development and to contribute to national competiveness. The challenge is clear and the question is pressing: How will universities respond? This book presents in-depth case narratives of ten universities from Norway, Finland, Sweden, UK, and the U.S. that have overcome significant challenges to develop programs and activities to commercialize scientific research, launch entrepreneurial degree programs, establish industry partnerships, and build entrepreneurial cultures and ecosystems. The universities are quite diverse: large and small; teaching and research focused; internationally recognized and relatively new; located in major cities and in emerging regions. Each case narrative describes challenges overcome, actions taken, and resulting accomplishments. This volume will be of interest to policymakers and university administrators as well as researchers and students interested in how different programs and activities can promote university entrepreneurship while contributing to economic growth in developed and developing economies.