Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Universities in the Context of the Knowledge-Based Society According to Systemism: Evidences from a Brazilian Community University

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Entrepreneurial Universities

Part of the book series: Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management ((ITKM))

Abstract

An increasing body of literature has begun to emerge on innovation and entrepreneurship in the academic setting. However, literature is still fragmented, requiring more systematic studies, considering both economic and social aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship within universities. This chapter contributes to this subject by discussing the suitability of using systemism as an approach to understand innovation and entrepreneurship as mechanisms that allow universities to contribute to socioeconomic development and to preserve their own sustainability. Particularly, the case of the University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul), in Brazil, is analyzed. Results show that systemism is suitable, among other reasons, because universities are in fact complex systems, it allows to consider the three levels by which innovation and entrepreneurship have been studied within universities (individual, organization, and interaction), and it offers clear conceptual dimensions that can be applied to both theoretical and empirical levels of research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abreu, M., & Grinevich, V. (2013). The nature of academic entrepreneurship in the UK: Widening the focus on entrepreneurial activities. Research Policy, 42(2), 408–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch, D. B. (2014). From the entrepreneurial university to the university for the entrepreneurial society. Journal of Technology Transfer, 39(3), 313–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Axelrod, R. M., & Cohen, M. D. (2000). Harnessing complexity: Organizational implications of a scientific frontier. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brennan, M., McGovern, P., & McGowan, P. (2007). Academic entrepreneurship on the island of Ireland: Re-orientating academia within the knowledge economy. Irish Journal of Management, 28(2), 51–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunge, M. (1979). A systems concept of society: Beyond individualism and Holism. Theory and Decision, 10, 13–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunge, M. (1996). Finding philosophy in social science. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunge, M. (1997). Mechanism and explanation. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 27(4), 410–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunge, M. (2000). Systemism: The alternative to individualism and holism. Journal of Socio-Economics, 29, 147–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bunge, M. (2003). Emergence and convergence: Qualitative novelty and the unity of knowledge. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunge, M. (2004). How does it work? The search for explanatory mechanisms. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 34(2), 182–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casti, J. (1981). Systemism, system theory and social system modeling. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 11, 405–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, Y. C., Chen, M. H., Hua, M., & Yang, P. Y. (2006). Managing academic innovation in Taiwan: Towards a ‘scientific-economic’ framework. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 73(2), 199–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, S. H., Huang, M. H., & Chen, D. Z. (2013). Driving factors of external funding and funding effects on academic innovation performance in university-industry-government linkages. Scientometrics, 94(3), 1077–1098.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, B. R. (1996). Substantive growth and innovative organization: New categories for higher education research. Higher Education, 32(4), 417–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, B. R. (1998). Creating entrepreneurial universities: Organizational pathways of transformation. Oxford: Pergamon-Elsevier Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conklin, G. H. (1978). Frustration of academic innovation: Can new teaching techniques survive in academic marketplace. Teaching Sociology, 5(2), 125–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doutriaux, J. (1987). Growth pattern of academic entrepreneurial firms. Journal of Business Venturing, 2(4), 285–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drucker, P. F. (2006). Innovation and entrepreneurship—Practice and principles. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt, K. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etzkowitz, H. (1984). Entrepreneurial scientists and entrepreneurial universities in American academic science. Minerva, 21(2–3), 198–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etzkowitz, H. (1998). The norms of entrepreneurial science: Cognitive effects of the new university-industry linkages. Research Policy, 27(8), 823–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etzkowitz, H. (2003a). Innovation in innovation: The Triple Helix of university-industry-government relations. Social Science Information, 42(3), 293–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etzkowitz, H. (2003b). Research groups as ‘quasi-firms’: The invention of the entrepreneurial university. Research Policy, 32(1), 109–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etzkowitz, H. (2004). The evolution of the entrepreneurial university. International Journal of Technology and Globalization, 1(1), 64–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etzkowitz, H. (2013). Anatomy of the entrepreneurial university. Social Science Information, 52(3), 486–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etzkowitz, H., Webster, A., Gebhardt, C., & Terra, B. R. C. (2000). The future of the university and the university of the future: Evolution of ivory tower to entrepreneurial paradigm. Research Policy, 29(2), 313–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, H. A. (2010). The ‘entrepreneurial turn’ and regional economic development mission of universities. Annals of Regional Science, 44(1), 83–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gräbner, C., & Kapeller, J. (2015). New perspectives on institutionalist pattern modeling: Systemism, complexity, and agent-based modeling. Journal of Economic Issues, 49(2), 433–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guenther, J., & Wagner, K. (2008). Getting out of the ivory tower: New perspectives on the entrepreneurial university. European Journal of International Management, 2(4), 400–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guerrero, M., Cunningham, J., & Urbano, D. (2015). Economic impact of entrepreneurial universities’ activities: An exploratory study of the United Kingdom. Research Policy, 44(3), 748–764.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guerrero, M., & Urbano, D. (2012). The development of an entrepreneurial university. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 37(1), 43–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guerrero, M., Urbano, D., Cunningham, J., & Organ, D. (2014). Entrepreneurial universities in two European regions: A case study comparison. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 39, 415–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofkirchner, W. (2007). A critical social systems view of the Internet. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 37(4), 471–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacob, M., Lundqvist, M., & Hellsmark, H. (2003). Entrepreneurial transformations in the Swedish University system: The case of Chalmers University of Technology. Research Policy, 32(9), 1555–1568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, D. A., Guerrero, M., & Urbano, D. (2011). Making universities more entrepreneurial: Development of a model. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 28(3), 302–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klofsten, M., & Jones-Evans, D. (2000). Comparing academic entrepreneurship in Europe: The case of Sweden and Ireland. Small Business Economics, 14(4), 299–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindquist, J. (1974). Political linkage: Academic innovation process. Journal of Higher Education, 45(5), 323–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mainardes, E. W., Alves, H., & Raposo, M. (2011). The process of change in university management: From the “Ivory Tower” to entrepreneurialism. Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences, 33, 124–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mars, M. M., & Rios-Aguilar, C. (2010). Academic entrepreneurship (re)defined: Significance and implications for the scholarship of higher education. Higher Education, 59(4), 441–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazdeh, M. M., Razavi, S. M., Hesamamiri, R., Zahedi, M. R., & Elahi, B. (2013). An empirical investigation of entrepreneurship intensity in Iranian state universities. Higher Education, 65(2), 207–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, R., Caulier-Grice, J., & Mulgan, G. (2010). The open book of social innovation. London: The Young Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelles, J., & Vorley, T. (2011). Entrepreneurial architecture: A blueprint for entrepreneurial universities. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 28(3), 341–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neves, C. E. B., & Neves, F. M. (2011). Research and innovation: New challenges for higher education in Brazil and in Germany. Caderno CRH, 24(63), 481–501.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Shea, R. P., Chugh, H., & Allen, T. J. (2008). Determinants and consequences of university spinoff activity: a conceptual framework. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 33(6), 653–666.

    Google Scholar 

  • Philpott, K., Dooley, L., O’Reilly, C., & Lupton, G. (2011). The entrepreneurial university: Examining the underlying academic tensions. Technovation, 31(4), 161–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickel, A. (2004). Systems and mechanisms: A symposium on Mario Bunge’s philosophy of social science. Philosophy of Social Sciences, 34(2), 169–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickel, A. (2007). Rethinking systems theory: A programmatic introduction. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 37(4), 391–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reihlen, M., Klaas-Wissing, T., & Ringberg, T. (2007). Meta theories in management studies: Reflections upon individualism, holism, and systemism. Management, 10(3), 49–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ropke, J. (1998). The entrepreneurial university, innovation, academic knowledge creation and regional development in a globalized economy. Working Paper, Department of Economics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, R. D. (1976). Institutionalization of academic innovations: 2 models. Sociology of Education, 49(2), 146–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothaermel, F. T., Agung, S. D., & Jiang, L. (2007). University entrepreneurship: A taxonomy of the literature. Industrial and Corporate Change, 16(4), 691–791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sam, C., & van der Sijde, P. (2014). Understanding the concept of the entrepreneurial university from the perspective of higher education models. Higher Education, 68(6), 891–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schachter, H. L. (1986). State coordinating agencies and academic innovation: A policy sector perspective. Higher Education, 15(3–4), 333–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, C. (2013). Researching transnationalisation and higher education in the context of social mechanisms. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 21(4), 480–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter, J. (1934). The theory of economic development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, S. K., & Pahnke, E. C. (2014). Parting the ivory curtain: understanding how universities support a diverse set of startups. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 39(5), 780–792.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strier, R. (2011). The construction of university-community partnerships: entangled perspectives. Higher Education, 62(1), 81–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tijssen, R. J. W. (2006). Universities and industrially relevant science: Towards measurement models and indicators of entrepreneurial orientation. Research Policy, 35(10), 1569–1585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Todorovic, Z. W., McNaughton, R. B., & Guild, P. (2011). ENTRE-U: An entrepreneurial orientation scale for universities. Technovation, 31(2–3), 128–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urbano, D., & Guerrero, M. (2013). Entrepreneurial universities: Socioeconomic impacts of academic entrepreneurship in a European region. Economic Development Quarterly, 27(1), 40–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Vught, F. (1999). Innovative universities. Tertiary Education and Management, 5(4), 347–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Bertalanffy, L. (1968). General system theory: Foundations, development, applications. New York: George Braziller.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wan, P. Y. Z. (2011). Emergence à la systems theory: Epistemological totalausschluss or ontological novelty? Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 41(2), 178–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, P. Y. Z. (2012). Dialectics, complexity, and the systemic approach: Toward a critical reconciliation. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 43(4), 411–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, M. S. (2011). A process model of academic entrepreneurship. Business Horizons, 54(2), 153–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, M. (2014). Academic entrepreneurship, technology transfer and society: Where next? Journal of Technology Transfer, 39(3), 322–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yokoyama, K. (2006). Entrepreneurialism in Japanese and UK universities: Governance, management, leadership, and funding. Higher Education, 52(3), 523–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Ademar Schmitz acknowledges financial support from UNIEDU/FUMDES, FAPESC TO 2015TR298, and CAPES. Also, David Urbano acknowledges the financial support from projects ECO2013-44027-P (Spanish Ministry of Economy & Competitiveness) and 2014-SGR-1626 (Economy & Knowledge Department-Catalan Government).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil

    Ademar Schmitz, Gertrudes Aparecida Dandolini & João Artur de Souza

  2. Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina (UNISUL), Tubarão, Brazil

    Ademar Schmitz, Gertrudes Aparecida Dandolini & João Artur de Souza

  3. Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    David Urbano

Authors
  1. Ademar Schmitz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David Urbano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gertrudes Aparecida Dandolini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. João Artur de Souza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ademar Schmitz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain

    Marta Peris-Ortiz

  2. School of Business Administration, University of San Diego, San Diego, California, USA

    Jaime Alonso Gómez

  3. Department of Management Control and Information Systems, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

    José M. Merigó-Lindahl

  4. Department of Business Administration, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain

    Carlos Rueda-Armengot

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Schmitz, A., Urbano, D., Dandolini, G.A., de Souza, J.A. (2017). Universities in the Context of the Knowledge-Based Society According to Systemism: Evidences from a Brazilian Community University. In: Peris-Ortiz, M., Gómez, J., Merigó-Lindahl, J., Rueda-Armengot, C. (eds) Entrepreneurial Universities. Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47949-1_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation