Navigating complexity
Academics’ agency in establishing social innovation and entrepreneurship education at universities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14690651 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yutong Wang (0009-0005-5570-8158, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China), Helena Horta (0000-0001-6814-1393, University of Hong Kong, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-20 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-17 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03075079.2025.2573878 |
| OpenAlex | W4415293028 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 50 |
In response to society’s growing focus on social and environmental challenges, universities worldwide are integrating social innovation and entrepreneurship (SIE) education into their curricula. This is a vital step towards achieving sustainable development. However, many SIE education initiatives struggle to maintain rigour and long-term sustainability due to inherent tensions within the university system. While the overall trend is promising, it is crucial to examine what underpins the varied development of SIE courses and programmes. Central to this inquiry are academics, whose agentic roles in educational changes have been acknowledged in the literature but remain understudied in the context of SIE education. Addressing this gap, the present study adopts an agent-based perspective to investigate academics’ experiences and perspectives as they design, implement, and drive innovations in SIE education. Drawing on interviews with 30 academics teaching and leading SIE courses and programmes across diverse disciplines and academic positions in Hong Kong’s eight publicly funded universities, the study reveals that their agency emerges through the reflexive processes of aligning motives and navigating structures. The analysis also identifies factors at multiple levels that condition academics’ agency and highlights the heterogeneity of their experiences based on their roles as professoriate, teaching, or practitioner academics. This study deepens understanding of the agency–structure interplay in SIE education, offering insights that can help university leaders and policymakers better support academics engaged in SIE education. The findings also add nuance to interpretations of the global proliferation of SIE programmes and enrich discourse on universities’ societal engagement through teaching
Entrepreneurship · Entrepreneurship education · Higher education · Social entrepreneurship · Social innovation · Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences · Higher Education Governance and Development · University-Industry-Government Innovation Models
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| Highly cited | No |
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