Challenges and opportunities of building an entrepreneurial discovery process through university–industry interaction: A Norwegian case study

Abstract

This study provides new insights into the entrepreneurial role of universities in an entrepreneurial discovery process. Over the past decades, European policies have encouraged universities to identify opportunities and develop new partnerships and connections with society. This analysis focuses on the Vestfold region of Norway, which contains an institutionally rich and specialised electronic industry, supported by a university college. The development of entrepreneurial discovery as a process capability at the regional level is examined using qualitative analysis based on semi-structured interviews. Regional actors developed regional innovation capabilities based on a bottom-up entrepreneurial discovery approach, in which a local university college played an active role. Entrepreneurial discovery capabilities entail a rigorous assessment of the region’s knowledge base, experimentation and the institutionalisation of new collaborative work forms that mobilise industry–university interaction aimed at identifying and facilitating the emergence and growth of new domains. The article highlights the challenges and opportunities of a bottom-up entrepreneurial discovery approach and concludes with policy implications.