Deconstructing the ivory tower: identifying challenges of university-industry ecosystem partnerships

Abstract

Collaboration between industry and academia necessitates the management of entrepreneurial dynamics within ecosystem contexts. However, such partnerships perpetuate numerous challenges that, without effective management, can impact upon the ecosystem as a whole. Limited research to date has addressed the challenges affecting these university-industry partnerships and ascertained their impact upon ecosystem management. This study identifies the challenges pervading university-industry partnerships across entrepreneurial ecosystems, with a view that through an exposition of such challenges, more specific strategies could be implemented to address them. Questionnaires were distributed to key ecosystem stakeholders, requesting their perceptions of the key challenges affecting their collaborative relationships. Empirical data was analysed utilising fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to deduce the configurational nature of the conditions. Results reveal mutually exclusive solutions grounded upon distinct combinations of conditions, constituting distinct pathways to ineffective ecosystem management. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, as well as acknowledged limitations of this study and suggestions for future research.

The value of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial ecosystem: Evidence from 265 cities in China

“…Our study explores the impacts of these configurations on employment, economic growth, and innovation, and thus, fsQCA better suits this research. In fact, many scholars have employed fsQCA to study the entrepreneurial ecosystem recently (e.g., Bacon & Williams, 2021;Del Sarto et al, 2020;Vedula & Fitza, 2019). Furthermore, one of the original goals of fsQCA is the development of new theoretical arguments.…”

Understanding the relationship between networks, startup risk-taking behaviour, and digitalization: the role of ecosystem coopetition

“…FsQCA can be employed to explore phenomena that should be understood as clusters of interconnected structures (Di Paola, 2020). Many scholars have recently employed fsQCA to study ecosystems (e.g., Bacon & Williams, 2021;Del Sarto, Isabelle, & Di Minin, 2020;Vedula & Fitza, 2019). Among them, some scholars use both regression (or structural equation modelling) and fsQCA for analysis (e.g., Hernández-Perlines, Covin, & Ribeiro-Soriano, 2021).…”

Coopetition within the entrepreneurial ecosystem: startups’ entrepreneurial learning processes and their implications for new venture performance

“…Meanwhile, it is meaningful and valuable to study coopetition activities in the field of entrepreneurship, especially in the context of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The current studies in the field of entrepreneurship are no longer limited to individual entrepreneurs or startups, but begin to take into account broader entrepreneurial contexts, especially the entrepreneurial ecosystem [1] (Autio et al , 2014; Jacobides et al , 2018; Bacon and Williams, 2021; Audretsch and Belitski, 2017; Auerswald and Dani, 2017; Brown and Mason, 2017). Adner (2017) defines the ecosystem as “the alignment structure of the multilateral set of partners that need to interact in order for a focal value proposition to materialize.” Based on the resource-based view (RBV), it can empower entrepreneurial activities and facilitate startups’ growth, as startups may lack some key resources (Vedula and Kim, 2019).…”

“…Coopetition and ecosystem are closely-related. Coopetition should be considered as a sine qua non condition and a basic feature of ecosystems (Selander et al, 2010;Bacon et al, 2020). Ecosystems require firms to balance cooperation and competition well (Ben Letaifa, 2014).…”

“…Because of its great value, Bouncken and Fredrich (2016c) have discussed the relationship between coopetition and learning, and we further explore the influences of different learning methods. Second, based on the KBV, ecosystems, knowledge and coopetition are closely-related (Bacon et al, 2020). For example, Howard et al (2018) examine the process of entrepreneurial migration, whereby employees from mature companies move to new ventures.…”