The creation and development of entrepreneurial universities in Spainan institutional approach

Resumen

Universities are a relevant instrument in the facilitation of the contemporary knowledge-based economy because they support the generation and the exploitation of knowledge through education, research and entrepreneurial activities. As a consequence, they generate value added, with their knowledge transformed into social and economic development (Dasgupta and David, 1994; Chrisman et al., 1995; Shane, 2005). For these reasons, governments around the world are attempting to make universities more entrepreneurial (Kirby, 2002b), above all, in order to increase their capabilities to generate entrepreneurs and transmit their innovations to society. In Europe, the Declarations of Bologna (1999), Lisbon (2000) and Brussels (2005), and Spanish Higher Education Reform (2006) are clear examples of government interest in improving the entrepreneurial spirit at all educational levels. In recent years, this phenomenon has also attracted the interest of researchers who try to understand the most critical factors involved in this transformation process (Clark, 1998; Sporn, 2001; Etzkowitz, 2004). However, several gaps exist in the literature of entrepreneurial universities (Kirby, 2007; Guerrero-Cano et al., 2006; Rothaermel et al., 2007). The main purpose of this research is to identify and to analyse the conditioning factors involved in the creation and development of the phenomenon of Entrepreneurial Universities in Spain. Particularly, the specific objectives are the following: (i) to build a bridge between the theoretical and the empirical perspective of Entrepreneurial Universities; (ii) to provide an in-depth qualitative analysis of the factors that conditions the creation and development of Spanish Entrepreneurial Universities; and (iii) to provide a robust quantitative analysis of the most critical factors identified in the Spanish Entrepreneurial Universities. With these aims, the conceptual framework is integrated by the Institutional Economic Theory and the Resource Based-View. Concerning the methodology, a triangulation process is developed, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches in order to provide in-depth knowledge and understanding about this phenomenon (Kirby, 2006). In this context, the research design is composed by the following three phases: a pre-exploratory analysis based on surveys of experts in the field and faculty in an Entrepreneurial University; a qualitative methodology based on a multiple case studies design; and a quantitative methodology based on surveys designed to obtain insights about the most critical factors identified by the university community (management, academics and students). Finally, the present research could be supported by academic and managerial points of view. The academic contribution from this study will be the ongoing discussion and to clarify the theoretical gaps about the core factors of an Entrepreneurial University (definition, requirements, barriers, and appropriate criteria to measure it). Also, this research could provide a better understanding of the factors involved in the entrepreneurial transformation process of universities. The managerial contributions could be translated inside the university, industry, and government administration. The university implications will be to provide knowledge about useful factors for designing policies that promote entrepreneurial environments inside. The industry implications could be oriented to establish more links with universities. This requires dialogue and more research proposals in order to ensure the knowledge transfer activities. The government implications of this study are oriented to offering evidence about the necessity to reinforce the promotion of entrepreneurial culture inside universities.