In the age of knowledge and innovation, universities can no longer limit themselves to being mere places of teaching and research. The challenge is to become true powerhouses of entrepreneurship and change. The research paper “Entrepreneurial universities and intrapreneurship: A process model on the emergence of an intrapreneurial university” published in Technovation by Maria Cecilia Flores, Rosa Grimaldi, Silvia Poli and Elisa Villani of the University of Bologna is dedicated to this theme.
Modern universities have embraced a multifunctional role that includes, in addition to teaching and research, a “third mission,” that is, the set of activities of scientific, technological and cultural transfer and enhancement of academic knowledge for commercial purposes. It encapsulates perhaps the best-known concept of “academic entrepreneurship.” The research explores the mechanisms that facilitate the transformation of universities into “entrepreneurial universities.” At the heart of the study is an analysis of an internationally prestigious Italian university located in northern Italy and known for its support of entrepreneurial culture, innovation and knowledge enhancement. The case focuses on the establishment of the “Entrepreneurship Club,” designed to develop intrapreneurial and organizational skills. The Club, officially launched in early 2017, has distinguished itself as a key initiative to foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem within the university. To study it, the authors adopted a qualitative methodology based on a longitudinal study, which collected data essentially through interviews and archive documents. More than 1,000 pages of documents and 237 responses to internal surveys and polls were analyzed over a 30-month period covering the three-year period 2016-2018. This made it possible to trace the evolution of the project from its origins, identifying the key features of each phase.
The results of the study identify two categories of mechanisms: enabling and supporting, which together explain the transformation of individual intrapreneurial skills into organizational capabilities. Enabling mechanisms include legitimacy, i.e., support from the university governance, which included the appointment of a Representative for Entrepreneurship, and boundary indeterminacy, i.e., the lack of clear goals and defined Club boundaries, which allowed for greater freedom and creativity, fostering participation and involvement. Support mechanisms included community building, which created a sense of belonging by fostering active participation, and creating connection, not only between different departments, administrative staff and academics, but also with the external ecosystem, including investors and other key players in the area.
The transformation process was divided into three main stages:
- Preliminary Phase (2016): defining the goals and shape of the Club through a brainstorming event.
- Project Development (2017-2018): conception, design and presentation of intrapreneurial projects through working groups (worksites).
- Culture Dissemination (2018 onward): organizing inspirational and educational events open to the entire community and expanding the Club’s activities to the university’s various campuses.
The Club has generated a number of tangible results, including the creation of programs designed to help students develop innovation and business-oriented ideas, initiatives to provide cross-cutting skills and promote soft skills such as creativity, open-mindedness and risk-taking, and initiatives to develop the intrapreneurial skills of PhD students. In addition, an alumni network has been developed to facilitate collaboration and knowledge transfer, and PoC funding schemes have been introduced for licensing technologies patented by the university.
The study, the first of its kind in a context as crucial as it is little explored, showed how the mechanisms activated within the Club drove the transformation of individual entrepreneurial skills into organizational capabilities. This model suggests that universities that combine internal intrapreneurial skills with organizational support measures and external strategies are more likely to become successful entrepreneurial universities. However, the great challenge remains for universities and research organizations that wish to promote entrepreneurship to create the appropriate internal conditions. It is essential to start by implementing a culture that fosters creativity and innovation, promoting the dissemination, socialization and sharing of values that support individuals’ engagement in innovation, change and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, while it is important to have strategies to create internal organizational mechanisms (e.g., procedures, regulations, incentive mechanisms, technology transfer offices), it is equally crucial to promote initiatives that engage diverse members of the academic community in events and situations where they can step out of their comfort zone, be challenged, and engage in the fields of innovation, change, and entrepreneurship. Managers need to be aware that the translation of intrapreneurial skills from individuals to the organization can take years and is a complex process with several stages. It is important to understand the mechanisms that accompany this process, defined here as enabling and supporting mechanisms, and to recognize that they can take different forms at different stages of the process. Finally, managers of Knowledge Transfer Offices (KTOs) have a crucial role to play. They must understand that involvement in events such as Club events can be critical to building effective bridges with the research community and students, promoting change. Despite the apparent messiness of the process and the need to tolerate the indefiniteness of the goals, the end results can be of great value to the entire university.
