Process Mechanisms for Academic Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Insights from a Case Study in China

This research explores how a research university develops its academic entrepreneurial ecosystem (AEE) through building up process mechanisms, thereby improving the academic entrepreneurship efficiency. We propose an individual-organisation-environment-process model, which we illustrate with the case study of Zhejiang University. Our findings pinpoint the importance of identifying the three basic mechanisms driving the AEE model, incentive, collaboration and capability mechanisms. The incentive mechanism is the driving force that could change the organisational framework, as well as individual research goals through the reform of the personnel assessment system and the entrepreneurial income distribution system. The collaboration mechanism is the vehicle of the AEE model that enables new entrepreneurial models and business start-up by improving university’s governance structures and building up entrepreneurial networks. The capability mechanism is the element for sustainable academic entrepreneurship through a combination of different entrepreneurial capabilities in a university.