This document discusses regional innovation dynamics and the role of universities in supporting entrepreneurship. It identifies four key success factors for regional innovation: 1) network effects 2) a supportive environment 3) heterogeneity and 4) an entrepreneurial culture. The document also discusses how universities can think along with entrepreneurs by incubating startups and supporting experimentation with different business models to help ventures adapt to uncertainty.

1. Setting the scene on
entrepreneurship
{universities “thinking along” with
entrepreneurs}
Insights and Mechanisms
Koenraad Debackere
K.U.Leuven
Monday 11 April 2011

2. I. DYNAMIC REGIONS OF INNOVATION
Monday 11 April 2011

3. WHAT INFLUENCES REGIONAL
INNOVATION DYNAMICS?
 4 success factors:
1. NETWORK EFFECTS
2. SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT
3. HETEROGENEITY
4. ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE
Monday 11 April 2011

4. 1. NETWORK EFFECTS ...
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5. 2. SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT ...
Centre for Drug
CD
D
Design and
Discovery
Monday 11 April 2011 D

6. 3. HETEROGENEITY ...
NASHVILLE, TN
BAY AREA
Monday 11 April 2011

7. 4. ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE ...
AMBITION LEADING FAILING
TEAM VISION
MONEY TRUST FRIENDS
ANALYSIS
PERSISTENCE
DARING
LEARNING
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8. II. ACADEMIC COMMITMENT ...
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9. ACADEMIA THINKING ALONG WITH
ENTREPRENEURS …
95 companies end 2010
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10. A NETWORKED INCUBATOR …
Associatie
UZLeuven
F
K.U.LEUVEN
I
N R
A W LRD E
O
N Science G
R
C
L
GFF Parks I
I O
A D
N
L Leuven.Inc
INDUSTRY
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11. III. FOCUS VS EXPERIMENTATION …
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12. THE NEED FOR BUSINESS MODEL
ADAPTATION …
Enablers
• Personality
traits Adaptation Performance
• Organizational
resources &
capabilities
Moderators
Monday 11 April 2011

13. THE NEED FOR BUSINESS MODEL
ADAPTATION …
Monday 11 April 2011

14. THE NEED FOR BUSINESS MODEL
ADAPTATION …
• Technology-based ventures in emerging industries are
successively confronted with varying degrees of uncertainty/
ambiguity
• Successful ventures adapt their business model:
 Adaptation in itself is not sufficient for survival, but it intervenes with
survival
• They use various adaptation modes:
 experimentation with related business models
 experimentation with unrelated business models
 early commitment
• Experimentation (=INCUBATION) turns out to be more beneficial
than early commitment in the presence of many “unknown
unknowns.” This requires TO THINK ALONG with the
entrepreneurial team.
Monday 11 April 2011

15. IV. AND NOW THE DEBATE …
Monday 11 April 2011