The Entrepreneurial University Stimulating Innovation Through Campus Development: The MIT Case

This chapter examines the university campus as a strategic organizational resource helping universities to adapt from a traditional to an entrepreneurial profile in order to remain competitive in today’s knowledge-based economy. The author links the concept of “dynamic capabilities” with corporate real estate management theories to study campus development as a long-term process enabling universities to adapt to the changing environments in which they operate. This chapter illustrates this process with the case of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a well-known entrepreneurial university. Findings describe how the MIT developed its campus and surroundings into a rich innovation ecosystem by reacting timely and adequately to technological, societal, and environmental dynamics influencing its local context. Similarly, the author acknowledges differences in campus management strategies that can be perceived as risky for the competitive position of the MIT in the long term. These findings are particular important for two reasons. In general, they built upon theories emphasizing the role of real estate as organizational resource that needs strategic management. In particular, they draw the attention to the adequate planning of environments fostering innovation ecosystem such as the so-called innovation districts or knowledge locations.