Models of Organisational and Managerial Capability for the Entrepreneurial University in Australia

Barbara J Cargill

Doctor of Business Administration 2007

Abstract
Prompted by the observation that some Australian universities state that they wish to be entrepreneurial, and appear to be only mildly successful at it, whilst others are entrepreneurial by any measure and yet do not state that aim, this study explores what it means to be an entrepreneurial university in the complex and challenging Australian context. It asks the key question What does it take? in seeking to identify the organisational and managerial capabilities that underpin successful entrepreneurial outcomes with a view to developing a model that can assist senior university executives in their managerial and leadership practice. The study is undertaken in an interpretive, qualitative research framework where an initial model based on a literature synthesis, using the work of Clark as a starting point, is presented to a group of participants. All are either present or recent vicechancellors, higher education industry experts and bureaucrats, or are senior technology transfer managers concerned with direct entrepreneurial efforts in larger universities. In two iterations, the participants are engaged in dialogue about the model, refining and commenting on it until their views are incorporated and it more closely approximates their own mental models for the practice of entrepreneurship in the university. Their comments about related issues of government policy, current national and international trends, their respective university strategies and concerns are also incorporated to add rich meaning to their views on the model itself. The study concludes that there are five clusters of capabilities involved in building an entrepreneurial university in the Australian setting. They are labelled Context, Strategy, People, Enabling Mechanisms and Culture and Internal Politics in this study. There is some overlap with those elements Clark originally identified but also some notable additional emphasis and detail added. In this study, the capability clusters related to relationship with environment and Context and that relating to Strategy and strategic leadership in general are found to be more important than Clark indicated, more crucial in the present Australian context and generally more underdeveloped in Australia than the current circumstances would indicate is necessary. It is concluded that where entrepreneurship is handled as a marginal, optional, or halfhearted pursuit, and the concept not fully embraced, it is likely to result in haphazard outcomes, not always enhancing or progressing the institution in its desired direction. In contrast, successful entrepreneurship in and by Australian universities essentially requires greater emphasis on the capabilities of strategic management and plans that place entrepreneurship centrally in an integrated strategic entrepreneurship framework. ________________________

Acknowledgements
This study could not have been undertaken without the generous and candid participation of many very busy people. All of them remain anonymous in the text of this research, as they wished to be, and I here acknowledge and thank all of them for their contribution and interest in the topic. I had some wonderful, insightful and animated discussions with them.

I also thank my supervisor, Professor Nita Cherry, for her clarity, judgement and support.

Lastly, but not least, I thank my husband, Professor Miles Nicholls, for his unswerving confidence that I could do this, and for his encouragement and practical help when some substantial family and personal difficulties made hard work of this project and threatened to derail both it and me. _____________________________

Declaration

I declare that this thesis:

contains no material which has been accepted for the award to me of any other degree or diploma, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis; to the best of my knowledge contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis; and where the work is based on joint research or publications, discloses the relative contributions of the respective workers or authors.

Barbara J Cargill

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Table of Contents

1. List of Tables and Figures 2. List of Abbreviations 3. Chapter 1: Introduction 4. Chapter 2: The Literature 5. Chapter 3: The Study Its Approach and Methods 6. Chapter 4: Round 1 Results and Analysis An Emerging Model 7. Chapter 5: Round 2 Results and Analysis A Dynamic Map of Capabilities 8. Chapter 6: The Capabilities Model Implications for Australian Universities 9. Bibliography 10. Appendices :Appendix 1 Letter of approach Appendix 2 Introductory statement Appendix 3 Agreement/consent Appendix 4 Round 1 questions Appendix 5 Round 1 interview analysis template Appendix 6 Table 3 Emerging five clusters Appendix 7 Round 2 questions Appendix 8 Follow-up letter Appendix 9 Round 2 interview analysis template Appendix 10 Aggregated data, round 1, by code Appendix 11 Initial codes generated for interview data Appendix 12 Additional codes, levels of engagement Appendix 13 Additional code, specific Clark reference Appendix 14 Good Examples of eship capability Appendix 15 - Table 2, data summary by participant type Appendix 16 Clustered codes Appendix 17- Fig.5 clustered capability elements, round 1 Appendix 18 Fig.6 Original Table 1 mapped to clusters Appendix 19 Aggregated data (round 2) on round 1 codes Appendix 20 Aggregated data (round 2) by question Appendix 21 Published conference paper, B.A.M.

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Lists of Tables and Figures

Figure 1 Diagrammatic View of Theoretical and Co-operative Research Design Chapter 4 Overview Clustered Elements of Organisational and Managerial Capability in Becoming an Entrepreneurial University in The Australian Context A Series of Unspecified Dynamic Connections 78 100

Figure 2 Figure 3

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Figure 4 A Notional Managerial Planning/Action Cycle for Becoming an Entrepreneurial University in the Australian Context, Viewed Over Probable Underlying Dynamic Connections of Unspecified Nature and Direction Figure 5 (see Appendix 17) The Clustered Elements of Organisational and Managerial Capability in Becoming an Entrepreneurial University in the Australian Context Codes Clustered Illustrating Themes in Round 1 Data Figure 6 (see Appendix 18) Key Points from Original Table 1 Mapped onto Five Clusters of Current Study ________

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Table 1 The Entrepreneurial University Options and Implications For Organisational Practice and Capability Development: A Synthesis of Covin & Miles(1999) Typology and Clarks (1998, 2003, 2004a&b) Elements, with Additional Factors from Corporate Entrepreneurship Literature of relevance to Australian Universities Table 2 (see Appendix 15) Summary of Interview Responses, Round 1, By Question Number and Participant Type Table 3 (see Appendix 6) The Entrepreneurial University -Options and Implications for Organisational Practice and Capability Development: Covin & Miles (1999) Typology And Clarks (1998, 2003, 2004a&b) Elements (with Additonal Factors from Corporate Entrepreneurship Literature Relevant to Australian Universities) Dissected into Five Clusters of Emerging Model Table 4 Clarks Five Elements Compared with Five Clusters Emerging from this Study

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List of Abbreviations

RBV SCA DCV CV CE Unis DEST IP HR/HRM

Resource Based View Sustained Competitive Advantage Dynamic Capabilities View Corporate Venturing Corporate Entrepreneurship Colloquial abbreviation for universities Department of Education, Science and Training Intellectual Property Human Resources/ Human Resource Management