Universities face unprecedented challenges including COVID-19, geopolitical tensions, financial pressures, and generative AI that require fundamental organizational innovation. While previous research has examined how universities contribute to industry innovation through collaborations, comparatively little attention has been paid to how universities innovate themselves as organizations to survive these turbulent times.
This special issue seeks interdisciplinary contributions examining universities' ability to innovate internally across governance, culture, leadership, capabilities, ecosystem engagement, work environments, and societal missions. The issue welcomes theoretical and empirical research exploring what drives, enables, or constrains innovation within universities.