Academic entrepreneurial ecosystem: towards the development of an effective ecosystem strategy
The academic entrepreneurial ecosystem is attracting growing interest from researchers engaged in the search for solutions to develop an effective territorial strategy. The literature highlights the role of universities as key drivers of economic development by effectively linking education and support programs to support the creation of new businesses. In this ecosystem, academic incubators act as intermediaries to create a favorable environment for business creation and a bridge between the supported companies and their external environment. A qualitative study was conducted to analyze the internal and external configuration of the academic entrepreneurial ecosystem. The results show that academic incubators mobilize a combination of individual and collective strategies to achieve an appropriate ecosystem strategy. Thus, environmental and organizational factors determine the ecosystem strategy and induce a sequential development protocol. The latter is broken down into five steps that range from the identification of the strategic positioning to monitoring and control. These results provide a cross-cutting understanding of the academic entrepreneurial ecosystem for all ecosystem actors, both internal and external, allowing the development and implementation of appropriate generic strategies.