Abstract:

Clark’s “Five Elements Theory” and Etzkowitz’s “Triple Helix Theory” belong to the two mainstream approaches to international entrepreneurial university construction; but both cannot provide theoretical guidance for entrepreneurial university practice in China due to the differences in dynamic mechanism and target scope. Theory of External Righting and Internal Driving emphasizes the conversion of the government-led approach and the activation of independent innovation in secondary colleges, and is based on the dialectical relationship between internal and external factors, and reflects the image and operability of the theory in terms of space and time. To promote the construction of entrepreneurial universities with Chinese characteristics by following the approach to Theory of External Righting and Internal Driving, it is necessary to enable the reform of the education evaluation system at the government level, and to ensure the relative stability of leaders at the university level, and to stimulate intellectual innovation service capacity at the college level.

Key words: theory of external righting and internal driving, entrepreneurial university, five elements theory, triple helix theory