How Can Cooperative Governance Make a University Entrepreneurial? The Case of Mondragon University

This paper presents a single case study on the Cooperative University of Mondragon to delve into the intricate process of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) adopting the entrepreneurial university (EU) framework across their diverse missions. Through qualitative data and analysis, this research seeks to unravel the organizational solutions employed by the University of Mondragon in embracing entrepreneurial behaviors, by building on a specific type of governance (i.e., cooperative). The findings shed light on how the Cooperative University of Mondragon, as a prominent example, leverages on a long-term vision that puts entrepreneurship at the center of its decision-making, as well as management tools and governance elements that favor collective participation and intrinsic motivation. This study advances our understanding of the evolving landscape of higher education and its entrepreneurial drift. It does so by (i) addressing the need for more research on governance in EUs; (ii) complementing existing studies on the role of university leadership in the adoption of entrepreneurial behaviors seizing opportunities and; (iii) identifying strategies to overcome barriers that inherently characterize large organizations and thus can impede universities to be entrepreneurial. Overall our study offers a set of practical implications for the adoption of entrepreneurial behaviors in HEIs.