Interpreting the third mission: university leaders, institutional logics and entrepreneurial transformation

Purpose The third mission mandate is a significant mission evolution for universities and is being driven by environmental and stakeholder pressures to deliver economic and social impact through research commercialisation, knowledge and technology transfer. It also challenges the traditional institutional logics of universities. Drawing on institutional theory, specifically institutional pressures and competing logics, this paper examines how university leaders interpret their third mission mandate and explores the initiatives they prioritise to advance it. Design/methodology/approach Set in an Irish context, this study adopted grounded theory using phenomenological interviews with 15 senior university leaders in Ireland. Findings The study finds that university leaders' interpretations of institutional pressures and competing logics generate an analytically derived range of four strategic postures: Reactive Responders, Cultural Champions, Infrastructure Builders and Ecosystem Orchestrators. These postures differ in the scope of intrapreneurial response, the extent to which academic and entrepreneurial logics are integrated and the degree of external orientation. The findings explain how leadership interpretation and institutional work contribute to heterogeneous university responses to the third mission. Research limitations/implications A key limitation is the reliance on a single informant per institution. While the senior leaders interviewed occupy strategic roles and positions of significant influence there is an acknowledgement that their views may not fully capture the potential variation or the middle-management gap where strategic intent often meets operational resistance. Secondly, the study is situated within the Irish higher education context, and thus, its results may not be generalisable. Finally, the methodological combination of grounded theory and phenomenology prioritises depth over breadth. Practical implications This study provides some guiding insights for university leaders as they make strategic prioritisation decisions to progress the development of the third mission agenda. Social implications This research highlights how university leaders' interpretations of third mission pressures shape intrapreneurial initiatives that influence wider society. By tracing a continuum from reactive to ecosystem-oriented responses, it shows how leadership agency affects the depth and inclusiveness of socio-economic engagement. The findings suggest that universities which move beyond minimal compliance can foster richer regional innovation ecosystems, more equitable access to entrepreneurial opportunities and stronger knowledge transfer to communities. Conversely, purely symbolic or narrow interpretations risk reinforcing existing inequalities and underutilising universities' potential as anchors of sustainable and socially responsible development. Originality/value Through the unique perspective of university leaders, this study illuminates how university leaders interpret institutional pressures, prioritise competing logics and translate these into differentiated forms of institutional work and intrapreneurial response. We present an analytically derived range of four strategic postures and intrapreneurial responses to the third-mission mandate.