Imprenditorialità morale e Università per lo sviluppo degli ecosistemi. Il caso VeniSIA

Purpose: The article aims to deepen the understanding of the link among academic moral entrepreneurship, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge translation during crises. Methodology: The article is based on a case study presenting the Venice sustainability innovation ecosystem (the VeniSIA accelerator), developed at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy, using the inductive qualitative research method of grounded theory. Findings: The VeniSIA experience highlights the potential role of universities as moral entrepreneurs in their third mission and catalysts of sustainable change and innovation, involving various stakeholders. Managerial implications: The VeniSIA case study contributes to a better understanding of the third mission of universities in critical situations. Research limitations and originality: The specific research context may influence its applicability to different fields. Also, while triangulation of observers and data was used, some information is based on the interpretation of the results. These limitations can be overcome by using different research methods or comparing similar experiences.