Academic institutions and the changing entrepreneurial finance landscape

Abstract

Universities have emerged as central players in the fast-changing entrepreneurial finance landscape. This editorial introduces and describes the recent changes in academia and the entrepreneurial finance landscape. It then investigates the particular role of universities in supporting start-ups, as investors or facilitators of investments. Following this, it discusses the role of universities in democratising venture capital investments, the different archetypes of university investment vehicles, the importance of institutional context and entrepreneurship learning and finally the patterns of internationalisation and funding in academic spin-offs. The editorial also provides some practical recommendations for practitioners and gives food for thought for future research.