The Societal Role of Universities in Peripheral Regions: From Constraint to Opportunity

This paper aims to understand the factors that determine the societal role of higher education institutions (HEIs) in peripheral regions characterised by the prevalence of thin regional innovation systems. Our analysis of existing literature suggests that HEIs develop a regional profile in response to an exogenous factor, namely peripherality, through endogenous factors such as HEI orientation and TM strategy. We conducted a case study applying mixed methodologies, including a quantitative survey and in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews. Our results show that universities can overcome limitations related to peripherality by developing a regional profile that adapts to regional needs, as characterised by the Sustainable Entrepreneurial University model, with an orientation towards applied sciences. Interestingly, the development of this profile does not necessarily depend on top-down policy decisions taken by HEI strategic leaders. On the contrary, our case study shows that it is driven by researchers through their personal contacts and networks.