What makes an entrepreneurial university? Institutional moderators of ecosystem impacts in a developing country

Abstract Entrepreneurial universities have become a key concept in debates concerning regional economic development. Yet, we still fall short of having a clear comprehension of the enablers of such localized impacts arising from academic activity. Such conditions are particularly critical for the context of developing countries, which have mostly mimicked initiatives taking place in the context of developed markets. To address these issues, we analyze the impacts generated by research-intensive universities on local innovation ecosystems. We apply a combination of econometric and case study methods for the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Results suggest that research-intensive universities, mostly public universities, positively impact their respective innovation ecosystems. Moreover, qualified research funds and the existence of a support structure (incubators and science and technology parks) significantly enhance the impacts generated by research-intensive universities. These findings highlight the relationship between the internal constraints of universities and their capacity to generate impacts on local ecosystems.