The role of the university as a regional determinant of technological entrepreneurship

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First is to analyse the role of the university as a contextual determinant of technological entrepreneurship. Second is to study how a set of regional factors can shape the effect of universities on technological entrepreneurship. A comparative analysis between South-American and high-income countries is carried out using panel data methodology for a sample of 70 countries participating in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) during the period 2006–2017. The results show a positive influence of the university on the technological entrepreneurship through its role as a supplier of talented human capital. Additionally, the findings indicate that this impact is shaped by other country's factors. Thus, in countries with a high proportion of employees with advanced studies, the presence of entrepreneurship using new technologies increases the positive effect of highly qualified human capital on technological entrepreneurship. In contrast, such a positive influence is lower when the number of days required to start a business, the necessity-driven entrepreneurship or the percentage of employment in the country’s service sector increase.