ENTREPRENEURIAL AND INNOVATIVE POTENTIAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS – THE EXAMPLE OF ESTONIAN UNIVERSITIES

The mission and tasks of universities have changed over the years, and the emergence of a knowledge-based economy has created challenges for the higher education sector as a whole on a global scale. University level institutions are viewed as proactive contributors to innovation, technological development and economic growth in a knowledge-driven society (e.g. Mansfield and Lee, 1996; Etzkowitz et al., 2000; King and Nash, 2001). The concept of the entrepreneurial university carries multiple meanings including notions of enterprise, innovation, commercialisation, organisational leadership and governance, new venture creation, employability (Hannon, 2013). It can be seen as an organisational response to external challenges and pressures (Gibb and Hannon, 2006). The challenge is to reconceptualise the university as an academic enterprise, one that is agile, competitive, adaptable and responsive to the changing needs of society (Jameson and O’Donnel, 2015). Also, the EC Communication and Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan specifically states that universities should become more entrepreneurial (European Commission, 2013).

The aim of the article is to study entrepreneurial and innovative potential of universities in Estonia. This is supported by the ESF programme “Systemic Development of Entrepreneurship education throughout all educational levels” initiated by the Estonian Ministry of Education. The present article is based on the data collected with an entrepreneurial self-assessment survey that was conducted in three Estonian higher education institutions (HEIs) in 2016.

In this explorative study we focus on three universities of Estonia and analyze their current actions in relation to their score on seven dimensions in the HEInnovate instrument. The self-assessment survey was carried out among universities’ academic and other staff in 2016. 212 respondents have assessed seven key pillars (leadership and governance; organizational capacity; entrepreneurial teaching and learning; preparing and supporting entrepreneurs; knowledge exchange and collaboration; internationalization; measurement of impact) and reflected on their perceptions of strengths and weaknesses in each key area thereby helping to identify institutional development needs. The tool enables universities to evaluate different components of their entrepreneurial capacity in complex and creates a basis for the development of a university being entrepreneurial.

In the analysis, t-test and ANOVA are used to compare the assessments on the basis university, positions, field of science, sociodemographic characteristics etc. The results show that respondents gave highest scores to the internationalization activities of their universities and to the knowledge exchange and collaboration activities. The lowest scores were given to the measurement of universities entrepreneurial activities and to organizational capacities. The field of science and sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents had significant impact on their assessments of their universities. The results of the research have implications for university leaders and education scholars.