Date Approved

8-29-2013

Date Posted

9-14-2016

Degree Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department or School

Leadership and Counseling

Committee Member

David Anderson, Ed.D., Chair

Committee Member

Jaclynn Tracy, Ph.D.

Committee Member

James Berry, Ed.D.

Committee Member

Byron Bond, Ph.D.

Abstract

Globalization and the rapidly changing market cause universities to seek new and creative ways to survive and succeed. The term entrepreneurial university is an ideological umbrella for those higher education institutions that are attempting to fully participate in the social and economic life of society. This qualitative study was aimed to investigate the entrepreneurial transformation at the departments of the School of Education at one Midwestern large public comprehensive university. The researcher sought to better understand the growth of the programs and services at the organization and how entrepreneurial concepts such as entrepreneurial behavior, culture, entrepreneurial products, creativity, innovations, and others play out in the chosen institution. Collected qualitative data were coded and scanned for common themes. Fourteen emergent themes were assigned to five categories: Entrepreneurial Individuals, Environmental Factors, Organizational Behaviors, Organizational Outcomes, and Organizational Systems. The following four core themes were found to be more profound among the others: Diversity of Personal and Professional Expertise and Experiences, Teamwork and Internal Collaboration, Unique/Innovative Programs and Services, and Entrepreneurial Achievement Oriented Organizational Culture. Findings were analyzed in relationship to the entrepreneurial concepts at four levels of the theoretical framework: (1) entrepreneurial individuals in the organization, (2) entrepreneurial organizational behaviors of the departments, (3) entrepreneurial university as the entire organization, and (4) university in a global environment. Application of the existing entrepreneurial theories to the findings allowed the researcher to develop implications for theory, future research, and practice. This study was an opportunity for the researcher to learn about the processes that occur in higher education because of globalization.

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