The idea of the entrepreneurial university and the organizational culture of a technical university

Abstract

PURPOSE: The aim of this article is to highlight the changing role of universities and to investigate the dominant organizational culture and to determine whether the existing culture supports the ethos of the entrepreneurial university.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The research was conducted using surveys, with the Cameron-Quinn questionnaire supplemented by three additional author questions. The questionnaire was distributed via email and handed out to respondents in 2024. The study included 237 lecturers from a technical university.

FINDINGS: Respondents believe that teamwork should dominate in the university, supervisors should be attentive and caring towards employees, and create a friendly work atmosphere. In the desired profile, the hierarchical dimension of building internal organizational relationships was assigned the least value. More than half of the respondents believe that the existing culture supports the ethos of the entrepreneurial university, which is currently the most frequently used model for university functioning.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: As a recommendation in the area of the conducted research, it can be stated that the starting point for strategic reorientation towards an entrepreneurial university is the construction of a modified organizational culture. An organizational culture that requires the formation of new patterns and values, beliefs, and attitudes. In practical, applicational terms, this means using an organizational culture with built-in trust as a stimulant for employee behavior. Trust should stimulate internal entrepreneurship conducive to the development of the university. In contrast to the current profile of organizational culture outlined by the survey participants, in the desired profile, respondents believe that teamwork should dominate in the university, and supervisors should create a friendly work atmosphere.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The article presents the authors' original research. The topic in the aspect of the entrepreneurial university is scarcely explored in the literature. While there are studies concerning organizational culture itself, the combination with the ethos of the university does not appear.