Understanding the evolution of the entrepreneurial university:The case of English Higher Education

There has been strong policy interest in universities becoming more entrepreneurial and engaging in knowledge exchange activities as part of an expanding third mission agenda. However, our understanding of the evolution and diversity of such activities is limited. Using longitudinal data from the Higher Education Business Community Interaction (HEBCI) Survey, this study examines the evolving configuration of universities' knowledge exchange activities and stakeholders by analysing distinctive clusters of English universities. We find an increasingly diverse profile of third mission activities across different types of universities: within old, more established universities, Russell Group universities increasingly focus on research‐oriented activities typically in partnership with large firms and non‐commercial organisations; while another group engages in a broad range of knowledge exchange activities with low specialisation over time. Newer, less research intensive, universities increasingly rely on activities such as consultancy and formation of spin‐offs. A decreased engagement with small and medium enterprises and a lower share of knowledge exchange activities at the regional level are observed across the time studied for all universities.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

Building Universities into Strategic Innovation System Actors: Exploring Transitions and Organisation-Level Support at the University of Cambridge, 1996-2015

This paper seeks to examine how a globally leading research intensive university, the University of Cambridge, has transitioned from a ‘knowledge factory’ driven by scholarly publication to a ‘strategic partner’ for firms in the innovation system, systematically developing and nurturing more relational modes of interaction in addition to supporting the more transactional, arms-length commercialisation of research outputs. It focuses particularly on the changing nature and configuring of organisation-level support for university-industry linkages of different types. Using theories of organisational change, we track the institutionalisation of this type of activity at the University over the period 1996-2015 through a period of unfreezing into one of experimentation and subsequent consolidation, and finally institutionalisation in recent years. However, this process appears to take place at different speeds for commercialisation related activity and the more research-driven relational industrial partnering activity. The University has now developed a system of leadership, policies and incentives, and operational support that extends well beyond commercialisation. We observe important processes of organisational learning at play as it creates and adapts organisational functions and forms. We also suggest that the University is having to build ambidexterity not just to enable research and engagement activity to thrive, but also to enable different forms of engagement to succeed