The Development of University-Based Entrepreneurship Ecosystems: Global Practices

Entrepreneurship and innovation are increasingly viewed as key contributors to global economic and social development. University-based entrepreneurship ecosystems (U-BEEs) provide a supportive context in which entrepreneurship and innovation can thrive. In that vein, this book provides critical insight based on cutting-edge analyses of how to frame, design, launch, and sustain efforts in the area of entrepreneurship.

Seven success factors were derived from an in-depth analysis of six leading, and very different, university-based entrepreneurship ecosystems in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. These seven success factors are: (1) senior leadership vision, engagement and sponsorship; (2) strong programmatic and faculty leadership; (3) sustained commitment over a long period of time; (4) commitment of substantial financial resources; (5) commitment to continuing innovation in curriculum and programs; (6) an appropriate organizational infrastructure; and (7) commitment to building the extended enterprise and achieving critical mass. Based on these success factors, the authors provide a series of recommendations for the development of a comprehensive university-based entrepreneurship ecosystem.

This major assessment of how best to drive university-based entrepreneurship ecosystems is essential reading for anyone involved in higher education (particularly provosts, deans, and professors), government agencies concerned with socio-economic development, and all those concerned with helping entrepreneurship ecosystems to flourish.

Contributors: J.M. Aguirre Guillén, K. Allen, J.S. Butler, J. Byrne, A. Fayolle, M.L. Fetters, A.T. García, K. Giordano, P.G. Greene, Y.-P. Ho, M. Lieberman, M.P. Rice, A. Singh, P.-K. Wong

Edited by Michael L. Fetters, Walter Carpenter Distinguished Professor, Babson College, Patricia G. Greene, Professor Emeritus, Babson College, Mark P. Rice, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and John Sibley Butler, J. Marion West Chair for Constructive Capitalism and the Herb Kelleher Chair for Entrepreneurship, The University of Texas at Austin, US