Entrepreneurial Environmental Challenges to Be Addressed on the Journey to Becoming an ‘Entrepreneurial University’: A Case Study of the University of Duhok, Kurdistan.

Universities have been challenged to behave more entrepreneurially and there is an extant literature on what constitutes an entrepreneurial university. The environment in which universities exist and interact with stakeholders has become more turbulent whilst governmental and societal expectations have become more demanding. In the UK the work of Gibb, Haskins and Robertson and the NCGE have provided analytical frameworks and encouraged debate. This paper considers the University of Duhok, Kurdistan which is in the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey. Twenty-two Deans and Heads of Department were interviewed and firstly asked what is meant by being entrepreneurial and hence being an entrepreneurial university. Secondly, the Gibb et al. (2013) eleven entrepreneurial environmental challenges were discussed. This paper provides an analysis of their responses. Given that entrepreneurial behaviour can come from both established players and young disruptors, there are interesting comparative lessons to be drawn for universities in both developed and less developed economies.