Title: From the university ecosystem to the entrepreneurial ecosystem – the way for developing the local economy

Authors: Walter Vesperi; Ineza Gagnidze

Addresses: Department of Economics and Management, University of Messina, Via dei Verdi, 75, 98122 Messina, Italy ' Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia, GE, USA

Abstract: The modern world faces a number of significant economic and social challenges. It is essential to find the key tools, which will contribute to mitigate the expected problems. The authors suggested that education (human capital) represents one of these tools. In this context the 'way' from the university ecosystem to the entrepreneurial ecosystem is discussed as a tool for developing the local economy. The experience of 40 countries in the process of forming entrepreneurial universities has been studied and eight main challenges have been identified. To achieve this, the study uses a qualitative exploratory methodology. Specifically, it was decided to analyse the country Italy. The results offer a theoretical framework on the concepts of 'entrepreneurial students' and 'university ecosystem'.

Keywords: entrepreneurial universities; university ecosystem; entrepreneurial ecosystem; entrepreneurial students; local economy; business incubators; academic entrepreneurship; knowledge transfer system.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEBR.2023.131158

International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 2023 Vol.25 No.4, pp.431 - 455

Received: 05 Feb 2021
Accepted: 25 May 2021
Published online: 01 Jun 2023 *

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