Browsing by Subject "Hochschulbildung"

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Third Mission Advancement in Higher Education : developing and envisioning entrepreneurial pathways for higher education institutions
(2020) Stolze, Audrey; Kuckertz, Andreas
In 1983, Henry Etzkowitz coined the term ‘entrepreneurial universities’ to explain the strategic developments taking place at some American higher education institutions (HEIs) that have engaged in industry partnerships and generating revenue from new sources, such as patents. The involvement of HEIs in economic activities has led scholars to propose that HEIs currently have a third mission beyond the traditional two missions of teaching and researching. In the past few decades, this phenomenon has attracted the attention of policy-makers, researchers, and HEI leaders, with new developments being documented in many countries around the world. Nevertheless, one aspect of this phenomenon that remains poorly understood is the entrepreneurial pathways pursued by HEIs in their attempt to strategically develop their third mission. Therefore, the overarching research question addressed in this dissertation is: how can HEIs become more entrepreneurial and strategically advance their third mission? The purpose of this dissertation is to envision and develop entrepreneurial pathways for HEIs, contributing to the research domain of higher education entrepreneurialism from a managerial perspective. This dissertation comprises three studies: (1) a systematic literature review of the transformation journey of 36 HEIs across the globe establishes the researching status quo, proposes core entrepreneurial pathways and an action-framework, and identifies specific research avenues for the topic; (2) an international foresight study adds a novel perspective by proposing five future scenarios for HEIs based on the interests, preoccupations, and expectations of entrepreneurial ecosystem stakeholders from sixteen countries; and (3) a confirmatory study which identifies two mechanisms through which dynamic capabilities translate into third mission strategic advancements. Combined, these studies shed light on the strategic choices HEIs must take when developing their third mission, effectively explaining how HEIs can become more entrepreneurial. This dissertation thereby contributes concomitantly to the theory on entrepreneurial universities and HEIs’ management practice.