How influence shapes academic engagement: implications for university entrepreneurial behaviour in multistakeholder projects

Purpose This paper investigates how business partners shape university behaviour within funded multistakeholder project consortia, addressing a gap in Academic Engagement and Entrepreneurial University literature on relational and systemic dimensions of partner influence. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts an abductive longitudinal case study of a project consortium (13 partners) within a European funding programme, over 30 months. It applies a systems thinking framework using causal loop diagrams to trace nonlinear feedback processes influencing university behaviour. Findings Influence operates through indirect, implicit mechanisms rather than formal authority. Symbolic and relational resources such as legitimacy, credibility and coalition alignment, emerge as the primary sources of power. Three sequential balancing feedback loops progressively marginalise the university, shifting its role from proactive innovation to defencive survival. Research limitations/implications The single-case design limits generalisability but enables in-depth theorisation of relational power and feedback dynamics in multistakeholder settings. Practical implications Universities should invest in coalition-building capabilities and institutional support structures to prevent marginalisation and mission drift. Originality/value The paper reconceptualises academic engagement as an emergent system property and extends stakeholder theory by incorporating informal, relational power dynamics.