Entrepreneurial Universities, Their Reputations and Their Websites: An Online Content Analysis

Is recognition as an "entrepreneurial university" reflected in the content of a university's website? Is entrepreneurship specific to one department, is it a university-wide focus, or is it merely the temporary focus of a campaign to achieve recognition? This pilot study examines the use of entrepreneurial language in ten UK university websites. The universities are selected based on either their spinout rate or their success between 2015 and 2016 in the Times Higher Education Entrepreneurial University of the Year Award and the Duke of York Award for University Entrepreneurship. Authorities on "the entrepreneurial university" propose a plurality of approaches including research, education, technology transfer and leadership (EC-OECD, 2012). Etzkowitz introduced the term "entrepreneurial university" in 1983 to describe the emerging role of universities in economic and regional development. Since then the opportunities for public recognition have multiplied. Websites are the public faces of most organisations, and Higher Education Institutions, like other businesses, use them to affirm their brands, promote their courses and attract their target customers. The website is a window onto the corporate soul. This research analyses the content of selected university websites to find evidence of their use of entrepreneurial language and their entrepreneurial orientation in the way they present themselves online. We measure absolute and proportional use of an entrepreneurial lexicon, both across the university and by faculty or department (where they are distinguished in the website structure). Business schools will have more business contents, so we also contrast the use of words from a non-entrepreneurial business vocabulary with those dealing more specifically with venture creation. We use a web-crawling tool and quantitative content analysis to identify selected keywords and compare total and proportional presence of entrepreneurial content. Several interesting patterns emerge including the difference between recognition and impact, strategic intent and practical delivery and the importance of the university's overall standing.