The engagement of entrepreneurial firms with universities: Network formation, innovation, and resilience

Abstract

This paper examines the role of entrepreneurial firms as agents of economic resilience. It focuses on the networks these firms construct with universities in order to access knowledge for innovation. Drawing on data from a cohort of entrepreneurial firms in the United Kingdom and the United States it is found that networks between entrepreneurial firms and universities are an importantfeature of the complex adaptive innovation systems associated with resilience. Furthermore, entrepreneurial firms play a role in open innovation practices through the establishment of both horizontal and vertical ties with universities. However, there are numerous challenges that entrepreneurial firms often face when seeking to connect with universities, which may stymie resilience.