Bridging the divides: A case study of collective action across Scottish university business schools to support small business

Cunningham, James; Hughes, Jeffrey; Hay, Allane; Greene, Francis; Seaman, Claire

Abstract

Support for small business is widely acknowledged as a complex issue of interrelated economic resilience and sustainability. Despite an established literature on the mechanisms through which university business schools support business, few studies have focused on relations between business schools in matters of such national importance. Our qualitative case study contributes to this limited stock of empirical knowledge by following a consortium of 16 university business schools and associated public bodies in Scotland, as they develop a national business support programme. A Networks of Practice (NofP) lens allows us to identify three processual com- ponents crucial in developing relations between entrepreneurial universities: acknowledging drivers, establishing relationships, and building a vision-based reference. These three components reveal tensions and challenges as a network of common interest forms. Fresh theoretical insights are offered on the nature of the entrepreneurial university and role of vision to bridge a fragmented higher education environment.

Citation

Cunningham, J., Hughes, J., Hay, A., Greene, F., & Seaman, C. (2024). Bridging the divides: A case study of collective action across Scottish university business schools to support small business. Journal of Business Research, 183, Article 114859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114859

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 18, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jul 24, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-10
• Deposit Date: Jul 24, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 24, 2024
• Journal: Journal of Business Research
• Print ISSN: 0148-2963
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 183
• Article Number: 114859
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114859
• Keywords: Networks of Practice; Entrepreneurial universities; Entrepreneurship education; Qualitative research; Case Study
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2611439