Delineating the anatomy of an entrepreneurial university: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology experience

Abstract

In many universities, heads, administrators and faculty seek to increase the propensity to engage in commercialization of research activity through the spinoff of new companies. The highly complex mechanism of spinoff generation is typically considered the result of either the characteristics of individuals, organizational policies and structures, organizational culture, or the external environment. Explanations of spinoff activity have in the main focused on only one of these dimensions at a time. In this paper we integrate these four dimensions of academic entrepreneurship to develop a more systemic understanding of spinoff activity at the university level. Using the case of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a top spinoff generator in the United States, a systemic analysis is presented. We identify the inter‐related factors that have contributed to successful academic entrepreneurship in MIT. We argue that MIT's success is based on the science and engineering resource base at MIT; the quality of research faculty; supporting organizational mechanisms and policies such as MIT's Technology Licensing Office; and the culture within MIT faculty that encourages entrepreneurship. However, to understand why MIT has developed these resources and organizational mechanisms, it is necessary to understand the historical context and emergence of MIT, and in particular the historical mission of the university, the role of key individuals and university leaders in supporting this mission, and the impact of past success at commercialization activity. Finally, we suggest that MIT's success needs to be understood in the context of the local regional environment. We argue that university administrators and academics can learn from the case of MIT, but that efforts at transposing or replicating single elements of MIT's model may only have limited success, given the inter‐related nature of the drivers of spinoff activity.

Economic impact of entrepreneurial universities’ activities: An exploratory study of the United Kingdom

“…We adopted a criterion to identify entrepreneurial universities in this paper: the university must be part of the Russell Group 34 which represents the leading UK universities with the commitment to maintain higher standards of education and learning, world leading research, wealth of the nation through unrivalled links with the business/public sector, and a huge impact on the social, economical, and cultural well-being of their regions. In general, this group of universities covers the criteria used to identify entrepreneurial universities in previous studies (Clark, 1998;Di Gregorio & Shane, 2003;Guerrero & Urbano, 2012;O'Shea et al, 2007;Shane, 2004;Wright et al, 2007). In particular, the university must promote an entrepreneurial culture by employing strategic actions that allow for adaptation to environmental changes, and it must make self-instituted efforts to change its general character by strengthening its core activities (teaching, research, and entrepreneurial initiatives).…”

How can universities facilitate academic spin-offs? An entrepreneurial competency perspective

“…A study of MIT pointed to a combination of factors behind the university's success in spin-off creation, such as MIT's science and engineering resource base; the quality of research faculty; supporting organizational mechanisms and policies such as MIT's Technology Licensing Office; and the culture within MIT faculty that encourages entrepreneurship (O'Shea et al 2007). Although some of the elements leading to more spinoffs are clear, the theoretical understanding of how the university actually contribute to the new venture is limited.…”

Innovative and creative entrepreneurship support services at universities

“…Additionally, the study of the most successful entrepreneurial universities in the world has resulted in a good deal of literature related to their characteristics, as well as the way they can successfully turn into one of them: although most are based on n = 1 analyses. We find several studies dealing with these issues such as O'Shea et al (2007), Clark (1998Clark ( , 2004, and Etzkowitz (1983Etzkowitz ( , 2004 among others. According to these authors, the entrepreneurial university can be understood as a flexible organization that interacts with its social and economic environment adapting itself to the changes and looks for additional sources of funds for research, teaching, technology transfer, and commercialization, etc.…”