Academic entrepreneurship plays a critical role in fostering innovation and driving economic growth within higher education institutions. With the increasing digital transformation, universities are reshaping their identities from traditional academic actors to dynamic hubs of entrepreneurial activity and innovation. This study examines the role of entrepreneurship education in fostering academic entrepreneurship, particularly in the digital age. The purpose of the research is to explore how universities contribute to the commercialization of research, the scalability of startups, and innovation capabilities through entrepreneurship education. A systematic literature review was employed to identify key trends, theories, and methodologies in academic entrepreneurship research, using bibliometric analysis to visualize thematic clusters and emerging patterns. The findings reveal significant themes, including the impact of digital technologies on entrepreneurial intentions, the role of business incubators in supporting university-based startups, and the importance of entrepreneurship education in enhancing students’ entrepreneurial skills and intentions. The study identifies gaps in the current literature, particularly the need to explore the effects of entrepreneurship education on commercialization performance and startup scalability. Furthermore, the implications for future research, urging scholars to focus on digital transformation in entrepreneurship education, university incubators, and the role of mentorship and networks in fostering academic entrepreneurship.
Abd RahimNMohamedZAmrinA, et al. (2021) Impact of self-regulated learning on entrepreneurial opportunity recognition and academic entrepreneurship performance. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management18(04): 2150016.
2.
Al HaddadSO’NealTBatarsehI, et al. (2020) Enabling academic entrepreneurship: the I-Corps experience. Education + Training63(7–8): 1027–1042.
3.
Al-TabbaaOAnkrahS (2016) Social capital to facilitate ‘engineered’ university–industry collaboration for technology transfer: a dynamic perspective. Technological Forecasting and Social Change104: 1–15.
4.
AlbatsEAlexanderATCunninghamJA (2022) Traditional, virtual, and digital intermediaries in university-industry collaboration: exploring institutional logics and bounded rationality. Technological Forecasting and Social Change177: 121470.
5.
AngelovaMNPastarmadzhievaDDRaykovM, et al. (2025) A comparative analysis of academic entrepreneurship research: the cases of Bulgaria, Malta, and Turkey. Sustainability17(13): 5907.
6.
BaeZ-T (2018) Academic entrepreneurship: commercialization of university research and entrepreneurship education at an entrepreneurial university. In: 2018 Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 19–23 August 2018. pp. 1–6.
7.
BaroncelliABolzaniDLandoniM (2022) Mapping the engagement of alumni organisations in entrepreneurship education and support at UK universities. International Journal of Management Education20(2): 100648.
BenabdellahYDianiA (2025) The entrepreneurial university wheel: a university ecosystem framework for developing countries. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship30(01): 2550005.
10.
BilićIŠkokićVLovrinčevićM (2021) Academic entrepreneurship in post-transition country—case study of Croatia. Journal of the Knowledge Economy12: 41–55.
11.
BirdBJelinekM (1989) The operation of entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice13(2): 21–30.
12.
BormanBDalalMHayterCS, et al. (2024) A transversal reconceptualization of entrepreneurship education: applying insights from the lean social launch framework to the entrepreneurial university. Small Business Economics63(2): 549–573.
13.
CorreiaMPMarquesCSSilvaR, et al. (2024) Academic entrepreneurship ecosystems: systematic literature review and future research directions. Journal of the Knowledge Economy15: 1–31.
14.
DadaAEAdegbuyiOAOgbariME, et al. (2023) Envisaging the impact of entrepreneurial culture on venture creation among undergraduate students of selected universities in Nigeria. Sustainability15(15): 11862.
15.
de HaanUShwartzSCGómez-BaqueroF (2020) A startup postdoc program as a channel for university technology transfer: the case of the runway startup postdoc program at the Jacobs Technion–Cornell Institute at Cornell tech. The Journal of Technology Transfer45(6): 1611–1633.
16.
Duval-CouetilNEpsteinAHuang-SaadA (2024) Examining the minimal combined effects of gender and minoritized racial/ethnic identity among academic entrepreneurs. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship16(3): 367–401.
17.
EpsteinADuval-CouetilNHuang-SaadA (2022) Gender differences in academic entrepreneurship: experience, attitudes and outcomes among NSF I-CORPS participants. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship14(1): 117–141.
18.
FreemanREHarrisonJSZyglidopoulosS (2018). Stakeholder Theory: Concepts and Strategies. Cambridge University Press.
19.
GafarMYusoffWFWKasimR, et al. (2015) Attitude to business reality, perceived value creation and subjective norms: how they impact on students of higher learning institutions’ self-employment intentions in Malaysia. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences6(5): 186–196.
20.
GarcezASilvaRFrancoM (2022) Digital transformation shaping structural pillars for academic entrepreneurship: a framework proposal and research agenda. Education and Information Technologies27(1): 1159–1182.
21.
GianiodisPTMeekWR (2020) Entrepreneurial education for the entrepreneurial university: a stakeholder perspective. The Journal of Technology Transfer45(4): 1167–1195.
22.
GuerreroMUrbanoDGajónE (2020) Entrepreneurial university ecosystems and graduates’ career patterns: do entrepreneurship education programmes and university business incubators matter?Journal of Management Development39(5): 753–775.
23.
HayterCSNelsonAJZayedS, et al. (2018) Conceptualizing academic entrepreneurship ecosystems: a review, analysis and extension of the literature. The Journal of Technology Transfer43: 1039–1082.
24.
KomulainenKSiivonenPKasanenK, et al. (2020) “How to give a killer pitch?” Performances of entrepreneurial narratives as identity models in higher education. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy3(3): 214–235.
25.
KuratkoDF (2005) The emergence of entrepreneurship education: development, trends, and challenges. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice29(5): 577–597.
26.
KuratkoDFMorrisMH (2024) Cross campus entrepreneurship: transforming the modern university. The Journal of Technology Transfer49: 1–25.
27.
LadoAABoydNGWrightP (1992) A competency-based model of sustainable competitive advantage: toward a conceptual integration. Journal of Management18(1): 77–91.
28.
LamineWMianSFayolleA, et al. (2018) Technology business incubation mechanisms and sustainable regional development. The Journal of Technology Transfer43: 1121–1141.
29.
LaneAMMountford-BrownVG (2025) Situating imposter syndrome in the experience of becoming and being an entrepreneurship educator. Education + Training67(4): 507–523.
30.
LeeK-JYunY-J (2020) Reconciling resource-based view and competency-based view of start-up formation in universities. IEEE Access8: 143274–143284.
31.
LiñánFFayolleA (2015) A systematic literature review on entrepreneurial intentions: citation, thematic analyses, and research agenda. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal11: 907–933.
32.
LongvaKK (2021) Student venture creation: developing social networks within entrepreneurial ecosystems in the transition from student to entrepreneur. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research27(5): 1264–1284.
33.
LourençoFTaylorTGTaylorDW (2013) Integrating “education for entrepreneurship” in multiple faculties in “half‐the‐time” to enhance graduate entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development20(3): 503–525.
34.
MarkuerkiagaLErrastiNOchoaC, et al. (2017) UNEK, an academic entrepreneurship maturity model for technological faculties. Dirección y Organización61: 12–18.
35.
MianSA (2011) University’s involvement in technology business incubation: what theory and practice tell us?International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management13(2): 113–121.
36.
MillerKAlexanderACunninghamJA, et al. (2018) Entrepreneurial academics and academic entrepreneurs: a systematic literature review. International Journal of Technology Management77(1–3): 9–37.
37.
NovikovaIEZhylinskaOIOsetskyiVL, et al. (2020) Strategic approaches to activating academic entrepreneurship in modern mega-universities: prospects for Ukraine. Наука Та Інновації16(6): 3–17.
38.
ParisSGNewmanRS (1990) Development aspects of self-regulated learning. Educational Psychologist25(1): 87–102.
39.
PerkmannMTartariVMcKelveyM, et al. (2013) Academic engagement and commercialisation: a review of the literature on university–industry relations. Research Policy42(2): 423–442.
40.
PittawayLRobertsonMMunirK, et al. (2004) Networking and innovation: a systematic review of the evidence. International Journal of Management Reviews5(3–4): 137–168.
41.
Piwowar-SulejKKrzywonosMKwilI (2021) Environmental entrepreneurship–bibliometric and content analysis of the subject literature based on H-Core. Journal of Cleaner Production295: 126277.
42.
PotocanVNedelkoZMulejM, et al. (2021) How university’s activities support the development of students’ entrepreneurial abilities: case of Slovenia and Croatia. Journal of the Knowledge Economy12(1): 22–40.
43.
PrimarioSRippaPSecundoG (2022) Rethinking entrepreneurial education: the role of digital technologies to assess entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intention of STEM students. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management71: 2829–2842.
44.
SansoneGBattagliaDLandoniP, et al. (2021) Academic spinoffs: the role of entrepreneurship education. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal17(1): 369–399.
45.
SecundoGRippaPCerchioneR (2020a) Digital academic entrepreneurship: a structured literature review and avenue for a research agenda. Technological Forecasting and Social Change157: 120118.
46.
SecundoGRippaPMeoliM (2020b) Digital transformation in entrepreneurship education centres: preliminary evidence from the Italian Contamination Labs network. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research26(7): 1589–1605.
47.
ShaneS (2004) Academic entrepreneurship: university spinoffs and wealth creation. In: Academic Entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar Publishing.
48.
SharmaL (2017) Teachers’ perspective on institutional barriers to academic entrepreneurship–a case of Uttarakhand state, India. Teachers and Teaching23(4): 436–450.
49.
ShekharPHandleyJBeddoesK (2025) (Dis)Engaging with entrepreneurial training: perspectives and experiences of women STEM faculty. Studies in Higher Education1–17.
50.
TranfieldDDenyerDSmartP (2003) Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British Journal of Management14: 207–222.
51.
VickTERobertsonM (2018) A systematic literature review of UK university–industry collaboration for knowledge transfer: a future research agenda. Science and Public Policy45(4): 579–590.
52.
WernerfeltB (1984) A resource-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal5: 171–180.
53.
Zhi-hongZZi-yiWShan-jiY (2025) How entrepreneurship university enhances digital opportunities? Evidences from bibliometric and topic modeling. Sage Open15(3): 21582440251343972.
54.
ZineckerMPěnčíkJKocmanováA, et al. (2024) Exploring the approaches towards support of academic entrepreneurship: evidence from an emerging market. Technological and Economic Development of Economy30(6): 1890–1919.
