Entrepreneurial universities and regional contribution

For the past few decades, higher education institutions (HEIs) have been evolving into full-fledged managerial entities preoccupied with generating profits and creating an economic impact on local, regional and national scales. Taking cues from the international trend, numerous political initiatives in Russia have emphasized government support for innovative and entrepreneurial activities at regional universities. This study attempts to define the dimensions of entrepreneurial universities and determine to what extent this definition is applicable to the regional context in Russia. Using data from HEIs’ efficiency monitoring conducted by the Ministry of Education and the Science of Russian Federation, we analyze the scientific and research productivity metrics and the funding structure of 20 universities located in the Saint Petersburg region, and we investigate the entrepreneurial activities undertaken by different types of universities. While policymakers and universities tend to employ mostly quantitative quality performance indicators (QPIs) to capture scientific productivity and commercial outcomes, the findings suggest that the regionalized impact of universities extends far beyond technology transfer and tangible outputs (in terms of human capital attraction and detention, formation of entrepreneurship capital, informal networks, new ideas, etc.). This study furthers the knowledge about the heterogeneous nature of entrepreneurialism at Russian universities and provides useful insights for policymaking and managerial practice. The transformation of a university into a local entrepreneurial fulcrum demands massive government funding during the initial stages and coordinated policy measures to foster the innovative activities of the university without compromising its traditional teaching and research functions.