Discussion on the entrepreneurial university in Spain: The case of the Madrid Region

Abstract A central theme in the literature has been the identification of the factors that drive the creation of entrepreneurial universities. The application of these factors and university institutional commitment become essential to overcome the institutional barriers that may exist. Moreover, some authors have warned that in some university systems, transformation becomes a challenge due to high dependence on the State. In this paper, we have examined whether the dependence of Spanish universities on the State can be interpreted as an inhibitor of the transformation process, as well as the institutional commitment of several universities to become entrepreneurial entities, in a national framework that—considering the literature—would not seem the most optimal to achieve it. We note that the State is not an inhibitor, but not all universities show the same internal commitment. When universities are committed to change, the process is accelerated by the sum of two impulses.