University spaces for entrepreneurship: a process model
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research
ISSN: 1355-2554
Article publication date: 17 May 2019
Issue publication date: 3 August 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore trends in entrepreneurship spaces developed by universities to support entrepreneurship education. It identifies characteristics that make a space conducive to innovation and explains whether current spaces adequately conform to those characteristics. More generally, this paper seeks to clarify what is being built, for which purposes and with what results.
Design/methodology/approach
Given the novelty of this research, the paper uses a multiple-method approach to allow for an iterative examination between theory and data. Multiple data and methods were used, including an action research method, a systematic survey of 57 entrepreneurship spaces at US universities and a thematic and content analyses of interviews carried out with individuals directly involved in the functioning of such spaces.
Findings
The paper presents a prescriptive model aimed at guiding the practitioner in the design of an entrepreneurship space. It identifies five types of entrepreneurship spaces that differentially support entrepreneurial activities and rely on different characteristics. These characteristics are centrally important for innovation and entrepreneurship spaces.
Practical implications
There are a number of practical implications from the work. It identifies key challenges in the design of entrepreneurship spaces and shows which questions to consider in the decision-making process.
Originality/value
The paper advances research on entrepreneurship spaces, an important yet poorly understood phenomenon. It reviews and introduces the literature on how space can support innovation, entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial “spirit’” and proposes a typology of entrepreneurship spaces, providing a path toward more robust and comprehensive theory building.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study reports a project that was undertaken by a large group of students and faculty at Ohio University (OU). Many participants were involved in various aspects and stages of the project. Dominique Halaby (Georgia Southern University) participated in early project design and helped identify examples. Alex Kneier and Lori Bentz are acknowledged as the founding students of the C-Suite project and secured Innovation Strategy planning grant support. Other important student contributors to the project include Maria Figueroa, Colin Espinosa, Faith Voinovich, Baylie Pollock, Drew Stroud and Ben Bowald. OU Board of Trustee member Dave Pidwell was a key institutional leader, the project team received a $16k Innovation Strategy planning grant from the Office for Research and Creative Activity and received significant assistance from University Planning and Space Management at the university during the design and construction stage of the project.
This paper forms part of a special section Filling in the Blanks: ‘Black Boxes’ in Enterprise/Entrepreneurship Education guest edited by Helle Neergaard, William B. Gartner, Ulla Hytti, Diamanto Politis and David Rae.
Citation
Pittaway, L., Aissaoui, R., Ferrier, M. and Mass, P. (2020), "University spaces for entrepreneurship: a process model", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 911-936. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-09-2018-0584
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited