From ivory towers to innovation hubs: a comprehensive review of entrepreneurial universities

Purpose Entrepreneurial universities are pivotal in fostering innovation, economic development and societal impact through strategic collaboration, robust networking and knowledge transfer. This paper aims to present a comprehensive literature review on the concept of entrepreneurial universities, institutions that integrate entrepreneurship into their core missions of teaching, research and community engagement. Design/methodology/approach The authors reviewed 152 articles on the topic using NVivo software. The review identified key themes, including those promoting entrepreneurship, learning, networking and uplifting social and economic values. Findings This paper highlights the mechanisms through which universities become entrepreneurial and the outcomes of these efforts. Entrepreneurial universities not only support startups but also embed collaboration at their core, advancing academic and economic outcomes. Research limitations/implications This study provides thematic analysis of entrepreneurial university concept and mission in recent literature. This is to highlight the distinctive themes of entrepreneurial university and highlight its evolvement as a concept and mission in a theoretical lens of evolutionary model of triple helix model. This can guide future research to conceptualize and develop evolutionary perspective and framework and apply it to higher education, which can enlighten decision-makers and practitioners in higher education with the recent changes in university’s mission for strategy formulation. Originality/value As interest in entrepreneurial universities grows, evaluating studies on general trends and themes becomes crucial. Hence, this literature review synthesizes current literature to provide proper direction for future researchers, filling a significant gap in the field.