Abstract
Entrepreneurial universities are a significant element of entrepreneurial ecosystems and aspire to foster entrepreneurial initiative through their “third mission”. However, while entrepreneurial ecosystems are scrutinized using a contextual approach to detect differences and similarities and how they affect entrepreneurship, little is known about how entrepreneurial universities impact entrepreneurial initiatives in general, considering multiple environments. Drawing on entrepreneurial university and entrepreneurial ecosystem theories, a conceptual framework is proposed that aims to explain the effect of the entrepreneurial university on an entrepreneurial initiative through its three “missions”, using an entrepreneurial ecosystem taxonomy. Based on individual data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, this entrepreneurial initiative analyzed 18 European countries in 2017. The results do not generally support the importance of entrepreneurial universities to entrepreneurial initiative. The relevance of entrepreneurial universities increases in more fragile entrepreneurial ecosystems since individuals need support over multiple dimensions. Conversely, the entrepreneurial universities that are embedded in stronger entrepreneurial ecosystems lose relevance and negatively affect the entrepreneurial initiative. Therefore, the value of entrepreneurial universities is reduced when individuals receive greater support from other dimensions. The variations across both groups suggest that the concept of entrepreneurial universities is not a contemporaneous phenomenon; however, their effect is progressively revealed by the maturity of each university’s mission. This perspective substantially changes the understanding of entrepreneurial universities as a thwartwise strategy, suggesting that the universities’ impact is expanded as their missions gradually evolve. Overall, the study contributes to an understanding of the implications for universities that blindly follow entrepreneurship, neglecting the exogenous environment, namely, the entrepreneurial ecosystem and individual drive.
Highlights
Considering the methodological procedures followed by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) [23,24], the sample is balanced according to the gender of respondents
The different missions of universities are not significant in both scenarios. While universities fulfill their purposes in all dimensions in terms of Die-Hard ecosystems, in a Sugar-Coated environment, universities’ flaws in education and research and the third mission have a negative impact on entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial universities embedded in stronger entrepreneurial ecosystems lose relevance and negatively affect the entrepreneurial initiative
Summary
The United States served as an example of entrepreneurship, evidencing successful strategies for promoting new businesses and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems when compared to Europe or other old-world regions [6]. Hotbeds of entrepreneurship such as “Silicon Valley” gained prominent attention from academics, scholars, and practitioners [7], moved by the aspiration of discovering a “successful recipe” capable of replication on European ground. Placing entrepreneurship as a driver to foster economic growth via new sources of employment, the levels of innovation and competitiveness were evident. The reignition of the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe become a common goal, as stated in the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan, indicating the creation of ecosystems where entrepreneurs can flourish and grow as a priority [5]
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