Higher education as a driver of green innovation and entrepreneurship: A systematic literature review and future research agenda

Abstract

This study provides an overview of higher education's impact on promoting green innovation and entrepreneurship through a systematic literature review, adhering to the PRISMA framework. The study synthesizes findings from 47 articles up to 2024, conducting bibliometric and qualitative content analyses. Bibliometric results show that two-thirds of the studies were conducted in Asia, especially China, followed by Europe. Content analysis indicates that green innovation and entrepreneurship contribute to sustainability, with higher education institutions serving as knowledge hubs. Additionally, while green innovation is mainly affected by university-industry collaboration, green entrepreneurship is mainly affected by university support systems. To enhance the impact of higher education, most studies also suggest promoting university support systems for green entrepreneurship and fostering university-industry collaboration for green innovation. A notable research gap is the lack of studies on how higher education influences the translation from green innovation to green entrepreneurship. Based on the identified findings and gaps, the study proposes a future research agenda. Furthermore, universities and companies can benefit from the results and findings of this review in promoting green innovation and green entrepreneurship practices.