Understanding the emergence of the university-based entrepreneurial ecosystem: comparing the university and company actors perspectives

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to add to the literature on university-based entrepreneurial ecosystems (U-BEEs) by providing new insights to the emergence of U-BEE. The study is based on 22 thematic in-depth interviews conducted among company and university actors. The analysis shows that the most important role of the university in the ecosystem is to educate entrepreneurs and the high-quality workforce. The emergence of U-BEE is fostered by scientific excellence, focusing and strong dyadic relationships. However, strong dyadic relationships can also act as a hindering factor, since they might lead to the one-sided development of a specific industrial field. The study suggests that the current theories on U-BEE should have more weight on entrepreneurial culture and social relations. From the practitioner point of view, the study implies that the centralization of entrepreneurship-related functions may lead to additional bureaucracy that might hinder the emergence of U-BEE.