Expanding university entrepreneurial ecosystems to under-represented communities

Abstract

Purpose Entrepreneurship education has moved from an elitist view focussing on a start-up and picking-the-winners philosophy towards a broader enterprising behaviour approach; recognising entrepreneurship as an activity of relevance for everybody. The purpose of this paper is to extend this development and identify how university entrepreneurial ecosystems can be expanded to support communities that are under-represented in entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach Based on an integrative literature review (Torraco, 2005), this paper draws together and synthesises literature from the field of entrepreneurship, higher education studies and under-represented communities in an integrated fashion, leading to the development of a new conceptual model. Findings This paper challenges the traditional role of universities in supporting entrepreneurship as focussing mainly on economic growth and new venture creation, and identifies how universities are also positioned to provide greater civic support to entrepreneurial learning amongst under-represented communities. Through a critical analysis of the literature, the conceptual model proposed identifies six key considerations in the expansion of university entrepreneurial ecosystems for under-represented communities. Practical implications There are currently 96.6m people at risk of poverty and social exclusion in the EU (OECD, 2017) and an estimated 43.1m Americans (US Census Bureau, 2017). This paper explores how university entrepreneurial ecosystems can be expanded to support minority and disadvantaged communities who are under-represented in terms of entrepreneurial activity. Originality/value Given that there is little research regarding how universities might activate inclusive entrepreneurship initiatives amongst under-represented communities, this paper expands existing knowledge as it identifies the key considerations encompassing university-led community collaborative enterprise support.

Underpinning the entrepreneurship educator’s toolkit: conceptualising the influence of educational philosophies and theory

“…Within higher education, entrepreneurship education is increasingly being viewed as important for all learners, regardless of learner discipline or future career goals (Bell and Bell 2016;O'Brien et al 2019). Even if learners are not planning on starting a business in the near future, the literature has highlighted that entrepreneurialism and entrepreneurial behaviour can support the learner's employability (Bell 2016), which is high on many educational institutions' agendas (Sewell and Dacre Pool 2010).…”

¿Qué factores son clave para generar un ecosistema emprendedor universitario?

“…El concepto de ecosistema, aplicado al emprendimiento puede ser definido como una comunidad integrada por diferentes actores (Estado, universidades, investigadores, empresas, proveedores de servicios, entre otros) que crean un sistema interdependiente y heterogéneo, el cual juega un rol clave en el desarrollo de la actividad emprendedora en un área geográfica determinada. Además refieren que para el éxito y productividad de un ecosistema emprendedor (EE), son necesarios algunos elementos como el acceso a financiamiento, apoyo del gobierno a través de políticas que promuevan el emprendimiento, educación emprendedora, infraestructura, apertura y vinculación con mercados, simplificación de los procedimientos para crear empresas y protección a los derechos de propiedad intelectual, entre las más relevantes (Nkusi, Cunningham, Nyuur y Pattinson, 2020;Herrera-Valverde, et al, 2020;O'Brien, et al, 2019;Johnson, et al, 2019;Fuster, et al, 2019;Spigel, 2017).…”

“…La misión tradicional de la universidad ha sido la transferencia del conocimiento a través de la educación y el desarrollo de nuevos conocimientos mediante la investigación; sin embargo, en la actualidad ha surgido el concepto de universidad emprendedora. Bajo este enfoque, la tercera misión de las universidades está en promover el emprendimiento y tener un rol significativo en el desarrollo económico y social de una región (Nkusi et al, 2020;O'Brien et al, 2019).…”

“…La promoción del emprendimiento es uno de los principales factores que puede impactar significativamente en el desarrollo social y económico de un país. Es así que diversas organizaciones públicas y privadas lo ven como un aspecto prioritario por lo que impulsan políticas que favorezcan el emprendimiento y el autoempleo (Gulnara, Gulnaz, Saltanat y Gaukhar, 2021;Herrera-Valverde, Mora-Esquivel y Leiva, 2020;Huezo-Ponce, Fernández-Pérez y Rodríguez-Ariza, 2020;Haneberg y Aaboen, 2020;O'Brien, Cooney y Blenker, 2019;Mason, Anderson, Kessl, Hruskova, 2019;Link y Sarala, 2019;Fuster, Padilla-Meléndez, Lockett y del-Águila-Obra, 2019;Huang-Saad, Duval-Couetil, y Park, 2018).…”

Do we Lead Together? Leadership Behavioral Integration and Coordination in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

“…For example, in some EEs, the key leaders may be successful entrepreneurs or individuals affiliated with key support organizations, such as an accelerator. In other EEs, leaders might be affiliated with a university or co‐working space (e.g., Goswami et al, ; O'Brien et al, ). Because of EE diversity, EE leadership requires forming cross‐organizational partnerships with leaders from other sectors and industries, rather than working primarily with other members from the leader's organization.…”