Abstract:

This paper studies how modern universities transform into businesses and deal with global market competition. Their main challenge is to form a model of effective and competitive entrepreneurial university, while preserving a traditional cultural mission.

For this purpose, we compare the model of classical universities with that of advanced entrepreneurial universities. In particular, we use case studies and benchmarking to review the models of some American and European universities as examples of the effective management based on their restructurization. With the help of SWOT analysis, we compare the horizontal and vertical differentiations of a university organizational structure.

According to the research findings, a university education system based on the vertical differentiation is deemed more effective (flexible, mobile and open). It has a better-functioning adaptive mechanism and greater potential than the universities based on the horizontal organization (of a departmental type). These are losing their feasibility as less effective in a modern competitive environment.

Finally, we make a conclusion that a modern university can only preserve its cultural mission if it adopts an effective model of entrepreneurial university, which:
- is based on the principles of a comprehensive university, which is similar to a corporation;
- leverages the adaptive potential of its organizational transformation while assessing the risk of losing its historical cultural mission;
- reduces the gap between the innovative existence (form) and traditional essence (substance) of university education;
- combines the educational and entrepreneurial functions of education.

This model is the most competitive, since it provides a better chance of successful interaction between the education market and labor market.

Keywords:

Entrepreneurship, higher education systems, organizational structure, horizontal and vertical differentiation, adaptation mechanism, competition.