Universities as strategic actors in the knowledge economy

Abstract

The university plays a particular set of roles in the global knowledge economy. It acts as a provider of both public and private goods in terms of education and research, as well as playing historically well-established roles in terms of applied problem solving. Also, through what has been called its public space role, the university acts as a conduit for the development of wider societal impacts linked to and coevolving with the other three roles, and facilitating integration into the wider social and innovation system (Lester and Piore, 2004; Hughes and Kitson, 2012, this issue). At the same time, universities, in the plural, display a variety of emphases across these roles. When viewed over time and across countries they exhibit a wide variety of forms in terms of public and private ownership, profit and not-for-profit objectives, and degree of dependence on state funding. This represents a rich experimentation in organisational forms and knowledge foci, and degree of adaptation in relation to national, regional and global conditions. Uneven national and regional development and agglomeration of competencies has meant that universities, their academic staff and public sector funders often seek to balance local, national or regional interests and stakeholders with what are primarily seen as global standards of peer-group performance, in global networks of academics and global systems of research technology and innovation.