Challenges with Creating a Thriving Entrepreneur Ecosystem at a Major University: A Mixed Method Study

The study determines what is necessary to catalyze higher education institutions (HEI) as innovation drivers and become active agents for entrepreneurship ecosystems in medium-sized universities with $200-$300M in research expenditures located in cities with a population of 250,000 to 500,000. After summarizing the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems, a mixed-method study investigated HEI innovation by building on an existing framework (Bedo et al., 2020). This research illustrated the influence university leaders (ULs) have on the components and mechanisms to support deficit(s) and or enhancement(s) of a local regional ecosystem. The research contribution proposes a new model, Gramm’s ELP for University Entrepreneur Ecosystems a framework, with recommendations on how university leaders can mobilize resources in support of entrepreneurship programs and/or investments to address gaps in a resource constrained local ecosystem to spur continued innovation and entrepreneur opportunity.

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