High Hopes

The regional impact of entrepreneurial universities is a well-researched topic, but less attention is paid to the expectations of the regional policy institutes toward the university. This chapter investigates the regional policy expectations toward the university and what the influence of the university to these expectations is. This study is based on a technological university case in a peripheral region in Finland. The results of the study show that the existence of a single university leads easily to a university-dominant policy and thus to a regional policy lock-in. Consequently, the implementation of the regional policies can be in the hands of the university, leaving other regional stakeholders with a minor role. In order to fully utilize the potential of the university to address the specific regional challenges, the university should not only be seen as a locus of new spin-offs and start-ups, but rather as a producer of qualified graduates and future entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurial Universities and Regional Innovation

Universities are expected to play a leading role in the smart specialisation strategy process, However, a gap between discourse and practice is marking the RIS3-related regional development programmes, which can be extended to the involvement of universities in the process. A mismatch can be speculated between the expectations towards universities' roles in RIS3 implementation and actual practice, and its repercussions on a regional innovation ecosystem. This chapter addresses the extent to which the role played by universities in a region's innovation and entrepreneurial practice aligns with the smart specialisation strategic outline. As an in-depth case-study of the University of Aveiro (Portugal), it draws on both quantitative and qualitative data, with an analysis of RIS3 approved projects in the Portuguese NUTS II Centro region, and interviews with key actors within the university and the regional administration. Through this, it weighs the contribution of entrepreneurial universities to the RIS3 goals, drawing lessons for public policy and discussing the future of RIS3.

Role of Universities on the Level of Regional Growth in Portugal

Universities nowadays are considered key players in the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems and, thus, may impact regional development. This chapter analyzes the role of the university as a determinant of regional economic growth in Portuguese NUTS III regions, from 2004-2017. One-step and two-step system GMM estimation results show a statistically significant and positive impact of universities upon regional growth. Moreover, the magnitude of effects is transversely stronger in the long run, which requires the need to avoid structural breaks in public actions previously initiated in the past.

Revisiting Functions and Roles of the Entrepreneurial University in Social and Economic Systems in the Regional Context

Today, institutions are the primary factor shaping national and regional environments. Being a very conservative institution, the university undergoes tremendous transformational changes stepping in the domain of the third university mission. The rise and development of the entrepreneurial university as an institution manifests an ongoing process, the dynamics of which can be confirmed by quantitative and qualitative indicators relevant for social and economic development of the regions and territories. The chapter focuses on the functional institutional approach in assessing an entrepreneurial university as an important institution in the regional socio-economic system, including the innovation system as its part. Basing on empirical data, the functional analysis empowers to draw conclusion on certain characteristics of entrepreneurial universities to overcome the limitations embedded in the national settings.

The Main Challenges of Higher Education Institutions in the 21st Century

Interest in higher education institutions (HEIs) as instruments for development has increased in recent years. The main objective of this chapter is to address the main challenges HEIs face in the 21st century as key actors for regional development, emphasising their entrepreneurial dimension. The pressures exerted on HEIs to become more effective, efficient, and autonomous require a reflection regarding the present and future of higher education. Through a detailed analysis and discussion of the relevant literature, this chapter contributes to a better understanding of the role of HEIs, especially given its relationship with society and the need for a more effective contribution to socioeconomic development.

Regional Policy Implications of the Entrepreneurial University

The chapter addresses the question of how universities respond to regional policy, and in particular, the ways in which academics are motivated and encouraged by regional development policies. The chapter specifically asks whether entrepreneurial universities create frameworks which allow university actors to positively contribute to collective development activities (such as clusters or technology transfer networks) by building new kinds of regional institutions. The chapter uses examples from three universities that all seek to be actively regionally engaged. This chapter identifies the factors that both encourage but also discourage these individual actors and notes that ongoing connections between individual academics and regional partners are critical to ensuring this constructive collaboration. The chapter contends that regional innovation policy should devote more resources to building these critical links.

The Role of University as Institutional Entrepreneur in Regional Innovation System

Recent literature has moved from a primarily economic perspective to awareness of the institutional role of a university in a regional innovation system. This chapter contributes to the scholarly discussions by combining the theories of institutional entrepreneurship and institutional logics to provide an analytical framework for understanding how universities can support institutional change in a regional innovation system. In particular, the authors consider the university as an institutional entrepreneur that not only initiates diverse changes in the institutional environment, but also actively participates in the implementation of such changes. The analytical framework is used to analyse the case of Tongji University in a regional innovation system in Shanghai, China.

Entrepreneurship Micro-Ecosystems in Practice

This chapter addresses the role of university campuses as potentializer of the impact of entrepreneurship on regional entrepreneurship ecosystem. The authors define the role and structure of entrepreneurial micro-ecosystems at a university level based on the body of knowledge focused on entrepreneurial and university ecosystems. Based on a specific case of Tecnológico de Monterrey in Querétaro, Mexico, authors construct a three-layer framework for a better understanding of the entrepreneurial micro-ecosystems and its internal and external interactions. Specifically, authors argue that the entrepreneurial micro-ecosystems are endemic to university campuses, and evolve at any type of entrepreneurship-focused university. On the other hand, these micro-ecosystems are scarcely recognized and managed. The authors believe that when they are accounted for and fostered, they generate an exponential effect both for entrepreneurs at the campus as well as for the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and development.

Entrepreneurial Universities' Strategic Role in Accelerated Innovation for Regional Growth

This chapter provides a conceptual framework of entrepreneurial universities' strategic role which has been viewed as an operational approach of promoting innovation–driven regional growth. Nowadays, entrepreneurial universities' strategic role and research institutions' innovative capabilities are distinguished as significant knowledge facilitators for regional economic development, due to their spin-off that adds value through knowledge creation and entrepreneurial discovery process. This chapter exemplifies entrepreneurial universities' strategic perspectives and their impact on a regional innovation system that enables a region to be more creative and innovative, especially new EU member states' territories in order to create their pioneering business opportunity with worldwide competency.

The Impact of Universities on Regional Competitiveness

This chapter presents an in-depth critical overview of the theoretical and methodological approaches that have been used to assess the impact of Universities on regional competitiveness and development, including short-term/demand-side (economic) perspective and long-term/supply side (endogenous growth, technological transfer and commercialization, and institutional) perspective. It gives special attention to the potential impacts of universities' technology transfer and entrepreneurship activities on regional competitiveness, considering the ongoing transformation process of universities towards a ‘regional engaged entrepreneurial university' model.