Organizational Innovation of Chinese Universities of Applied Sciences in Less-Developed Regional Innovation Systems

Abstract

Universities of applied sciences (UASs) are recognized as a supplement to research universities in regional innovation systems. Although their significance has been proven in the process of knowledge innovation and transfer in many developed European countries, few studies have noticed their essential existence in less-developed regions. This is also the case in the context of China. This study focused on the organizational innovation used by Chinese UASs to tackle serious challenges in less-developed regions. Three case study universities were selected from Yunnan Province in western China. By analyzing their roles, compatibilities, and profitability, this study revealed that UASs are indispensable platforms for applied talent cultivation, local research, and social services in less-developed regions. Facing multiple incompatibility issues and unbalanced profitability, institutional entrepreneurs, including university leaders, middle-level managers, teachers, and students, jointly take innovative initiatives to participate in the regional innovation system. These initiatives not only stimulated the vitality of life for UASs in less-developed regions, but also shed light on the future development of UASs in different cultural contexts.

1. Introduction

In the era of the knowledge economy, higher education institutions (HEIs), acting as “engines” and “catalysts”, play an essential role in regional innovation systems [1,2,3]. Due to increasing study of the effects of non-research universities on regional innovation, researchers have increasingly turned their attention to universities of applied sciences (UASs). Globally, both in developed European countries and developing countries, such as Brazil, UASs are considered important catalysts in promoting innovation, prosperity, and knowledge transfer [4,5]. China is no exception to this trend. In 2014, China has launched a series of initiatives to promote the integration of UASs in regional economic development [6]. The National Vocational Education Reform Implementation Plan proposed the construction of at least 50 high-quality UASs nationwide by 2022. In this context, Chinese scholars proposed that the term “UASs” should refer to applied universities that focus on cultivating applied talents at the undergraduate level (offering four-year bachelor’s degrees), with emphasis on the responsibilities of economic development and social services in certain regions [7,8,9]. Furthermore, Cai and Yan (2019) provided an analytical framework for understanding UASs in China’s regional innovation, combining the triple-helix model and entrepreneurial universities.

However, despite evidence in the literature regarding the significance of UASs in regional development, few empirical studies of Chinese UASs can be found. Even fewer studies have observed the impact of regional variations on the development of UASs. There has long been a huge economic disparity between the eastern and western regions of China [10]. Relying on rich natural and policy resources, the eastern coastal areas established well-developed transportation systems and industrial chains to attract sufficient human capital. Conversely, the per capita GDP of western regions has been less than 40% of that of the eastern regions, resulting in a severe shortage of economic and human resources [11]. In such less-developed regions, UASs face even more serious challenges related to training and retaining applied talents. Furthermore, the gap in technological innovation capacity between the western and the eastern regions of China is increasingly widening. Therefore, it is urgent for local UASs in western regions to explore coping strategies, using organizational innovation.

To fill in the aforementioned research gaps, this paper examined three case study universities in Yunnan Province in China to understand how local UASs have contributed to western regional innovation systems, what challenges are faced by the local UASs when they implement organizational innovation, and how the institutional entrepreneurs deal with these challenges. From the perspective of institutional theory, this study explored the organizational innovation of local UASs as they participated in the innovation system in less-developed regions. It employed a multiple-case study approach, which consisted of policy documentation and semi-structured interviews (conducted during 2021) of key participants at the case study universities. The expected contribution of this study to the existing literature is two-fold. First, on the conceptual front, it advances theoretical understanding of the essential factors that influence the institutionalization of organizational innovation of UASs, mainly based on Cai and Yang’s analytical framework. Second, on the empirical front, it examines the organizational innovation challenges and paths of Chinese UASs in less-developed regions over the past decade.

2. Literature Review

UASs are a crucial component of higher education systems in Europe, recruiting a large share of students. In most European countries, UASs, distinct from research universities, are well known for providing short-term and bachelor-level professional training programs in areas such as teaching, nursing, and social work [12]. The most typical case of this binary system is Switzerland, where UASs are subject to different laws, funding, and career systems than research universities [13]. Initially, the main goal of UASs was to teach students the latest theories and techniques for real world professions [14]. However, although UASs were originally not supposed to engage in research, this intention changed due to the increasing demand for UASs in regional innovation systems over time [15]. They have moved toward a focus on practical, collaborative, and demand-oriented research for the regional needs of society [16]. Nowadays, many UASs have a research mission emphasizing applied research and practical development. This initiative aims to improve the training quality of professional education through research and, more importantly, to facilitate UASs in acting as essential knowledge providers for regions [15]. For example, in Austria, UASs conduct “science-driven, vocational-oriented teaching and applied research” [17]. In Germany, one of the most significant goals for UASs is to enhance the interaction of technology and knowledge transfer with regional industries [18]. Similarly, UASs in Belgium have had a long-term natural alliance with industry and trading companies across regions [19]. As their role has been updated, UASs have come to participate the regional innovation systems by training practical professionals, conducting applied research, and strengthening cooperation with local industries and companies.

To fulfill the triple role to educate, to undertake applied sciences research, and to connect with local industry and society, UASs are actively integrated with their regional innovation systems. In terms of their education purpose, Dutch UASs are devoted to training future real-world professionals with the latest techniques and skills to serve, improve, and innovate the development of regional society [14]. To fulfill this goal, it is necessary to understand the developing demands of the regional innovation system. Therefore, research on demands that are driven by social needs, and research that is applicable to professional practice, emerges at these UASs, as well as cooperation with regional industries [20]. Compared with the traditional basic research conducted by the university sector, the research, development, and innovation (RDI) activities of UASs are directly based on the needs of education and working life and feature new and upgraded practices and solutions [21]. In the Finnish higher education system, UASs take RDI as their core [22]. The RDI directors of Finland consider UASs to be the main creators of new inventions, enablers of innovation, and transferors of competence [23]. In a similar vein, UASs in Switzerland have also shown a strong positive correlation with regional patenting activities [4]. As regards the patent data, Schlegel et al. found that the regions with a large market size and high technological intensity obtained significant innovation achievements through UASs’s cooperating with local firms [24]. Specifically, the performance of UASs are closely related to those of the regional industries and the locations of firms. For example, UASs focused on chemistry and life sciences were positively associated with knowledge-intensive and supplier-oriented firms, whereas UASs specializing in business and management had positive effects on service-intensive industries [25]. In addition, in the face of a sudden disaster, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, regional UASs play a crucial role in knowledge transfer and crisis management [26].

By contrast, UASs are often called “polytechnics” and the “non-university sector” in the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Australia, and the United States. Specifically, polytechnic education focuses on applied, industry-aligned learning, with real-world experience built into the curriculum [27]. Its main features are that it teaches hands-on applied knowledge, it is industry-driven by labor demand, it is flexible and suited to lifelong learning, it is innovation-oriented toward new technologies, and it is focused on full-spectrum workforce transition. Located in the key developed economic regions, polytechnics in Canada train technical and employable talents in short-duration diploma apprenticeships and four-year bachelor’s degree programs, and are deeply engaged in applied research and development with local industry. For example, in 2021, the UASs in Canada prepared 105,000 applied graduates for the labor market and launched 3720 applied research projects addressing the needs of 2600 industry partners [28]. This is also the case for the non-university sector in the UK and Australia, where the boundary between academic and applied research has become blurred. In these two countries, applied research and services to regional economies are the two mandated goals for UASs, which hold the same status as universities; for example, they can award doctoral degrees [13]. Furthermore, the United States has a complex multi-level higher education system, including research universities, two-year technical and community colleges, and four-year colleges, without explicit polytechnic institutions [29]. Its numerous local technical colleges and community colleges, as well as technology-based programs in universities, provide different degrees and serve local industries and development.

In Germany, the peripheral geographical distribution of UASs means they cooperate closely with small- and medium-sized enterprises, thereby enhancing innovative practice and informal technological transfer [30]. Although it has lower GDP and innovation capacity, the eastern part of Germany outperformed its western counterpart in technology transfer performance [30]. Germany demonstrates a successful case of UASs improving regional technology transfer innovation. One possible reason is that smaller firms that cannot afford the expensive human cost of innovation can find reliable partners among local UASs [31]. Additionally, those UASs located in inferior areas have shown more flexible capabilities to utilize limited resources effectively [30]. However, why UASs in less economically developed regions could access the same amount of teaching resources and funding sources as those in other regions aroused the attention of researchers. More importantly, another question of interest to researchers is how UASs in less economically developed areas realized this reversal of achievement. In a similar vein, fueled by national government policies, China’s UASs have created new organizational innovations to carry out a few functions by integrating policy, innovation, capital, and social resources, such as constructing university–industry collaboration and joint ventures with government and local enterprises [32,33]. However, at an earlier evolutionary stage, the UASs may have encountered, to varying degrees, challenges of limited R&D capabilities, unstable collaborations, and insufficient investments, especially in the less-developed areas [32]. Nevertheless, given the different development paths of UASs in developed and less-developed areas, there is still a lack of empirical research on UASs located specifically in eastern and western China. Clearly it is best to look toward the western areas that possess inherent deficiencies as their situation can be changed by organizational innovation to drive regional development. There is also a crucial need for further empirical evidence regarding the role of UASs in regional innovation systems of less-developed areas to enrich international lessons.

3. Research Design and Methodology

3.1. Multiple Case Study Method

Qualitative case study methodology provides useful tools for investigators to examine sophisticated phenomena in particular contexts. This method allows researchers to delve into unique examples of real people and activities in authentic situations and to understand ideas clearly, rather than merely displaying theories and principles [34]. Studying UASs in less-developed regional innovation systems requires researchers to comprehend the role of UASs in these special social, economic, and political contexts, as well as to understand their interactions with other organizations. According to Stake, the multiple case study is “a special effort to examine something having lots of cases, parts, or members” (vi) [35]. Each case study constitutes a specific entity. In our study, conducted in the context of Yunnan Province, each university was seen as a case study with systematic features and particular situations. The organizational innovation of UASs reflects different activities and different members in the universities. By collecting a series of data from various sources, including those of provincial and local policies, institutional regulations and documents, and interviews with middle-level and senior academic managers, faculty members, and students in each university, we aimed to explore how UASs function in university–industry collaboration in terms of both teaching and learning and in research and development.

Due to its merits, the multiple case study approach is often described as “more compelling” and “more robust” [36]. The selection of the three case study universities was based on the following three principles Stake promoted: the cases were relevant to the study’s goals; the different cases offered diversity across contexts; and the cases provided good opportunities to delve into complexity and different contexts [35]. These selected cases were chosen to align with the following criteria: they were top UASs in the region and they were representative UASs in the region, in terms of their public/private nature, length of history, and location; and their data was accessible to us. In addition, according to the literal replication principle that Yin suggested, cases were carefully selected so that comparable results, either similar or contrasting, could be found across cases [36]. This study selected for potential literal replications within a region and for the cases’ features as UASs. Therefore, this study adopted an explanatory multiple-case study approach. However, this method has limitations in terms of its ability to quantify the impact of UASs’ roles and contributions in the region, and in generalizing the findings to other cultural and social contexts. A quantitative method will be adopted in a future study to depict a more comprehensive scenario of the organizational innovation of UASs in less-developed regional innovation systems.

3.2. Case Description

Based on the principles of a multiple case study, this study selected three case study institutions, namely KU, BU, and DU, shown as

Table 1. Basic information of the three case.

Name and Codes	Year Established	Nature	Year became AUTTDI	Region and City	Number of Interviews
KU	2004	Public	2017	Kunming	12
BU	1992	Private	2017	County of Anning	20
DU	1978	Public	2019	Dali West Yunnan	27

. All of them featured as pilot provincial UASs.

The first case study university, KU, was established in 2004, and is a public university in the capital city, Kunming. In 2012, KU successfully passed the undergraduate teaching qualification assessment of the Ministry of Education and, in 2014, it was listed as the pilot institution for the University of Applied Undergraduate transformation in Yunnan Province. In 2017, it was selected to be among the first Applied Undergraduate Talent Training Demonstration Institutions constructed in the province. In 2018, it became a master’s degree-awarding unit and held the first chair of the Yunnan UASs Alliance. Twelve interviews were conducted at KU (Appendix A-

Table A1. The Interviewees of KU.

Code	Position
KU01	Director of Academic Affairs
KU02	Dean of the School of Information Engineering
KU03	Vice Dean of the School of Economics and Management
KU04	Vice Dean of School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
KU05, KU06	Teachers of School of Economics and Management
KU07, KU08, KU09, KU10, KU11, KU12	Students

).

As for the case study of BU, it is situated in the county of Anning and became one of the first private universities in Yunnan Province upon its establishment in 1992. Private universities play a special role in regional development because of their salient application-oriented features, and their sustainability relies more heavily on the quality of their application-oriented degree programs than is the case for their peer public UASs. BU had been a vocational college until it was approved by the Ministry of Education as a full-time regular bachelor’s degree-awarding unit in 2014. In 2017, the university was also selected as one of the Applied Undergraduate Talent Training Demonstration Institutions to be transformed into UASs. It was awarded status as the “pilot institution of innovation and entrepreneurship education reform” in Yunnan Province. We conducted twenty in-depth interviews at BU (Appendix A-

Table A2. The Interviewees of BU.

Code.	Position
BU01	President
BU02	Assistant to the President
BU03 BU04	Director of Academic Affairs Deputy Director of Academic Affairs
BU05	Director of Development Planning Division
BU06	Director of Science and Technology
BU07	Dean of the School of Engineering
BU08	Dean of the School of Accounting and Finance
BU09, BU10, BU11, BU12	Business leaders serving as part-time teachers
BU13, BU14	Professional course teachers
BU15, BU16, BU17, BU18, BU19, BU20	Students

).

In regard to the case study of DU, this institution has the longest history among the three case study universities at 43 years and is a public university located in the city of Dali. In 2001, two universities, Medical College and Teachers College, founded in 1978, merged into DU. It became a master’s degree-granting institution in 2003 and was renamed DU in 2015. The university developed into a comprehensive university, featuring medicine and ethnic culture, interdisciplinary integration, and multi-level coordinated development. It was the first university in a non-capital city of Yunnan to be qualified to grant master’s and doctor’s degrees. It has had a positive impact on the regional economic and social development in Dali. In 2019, it was selected by the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education to be one of the second batch of Applied Undergraduate Talent Training Demonstration Institutions. We interviewed twenty-seven participants at DU (Appendix A-

Table A3. The Interviewees of DU.

Code	Position
DU01	Vice President
DU02 DU03	Director of Academic Affairs Deputy Director of Academic Affairs
DU04	Deputy Director of Science and Technology
DU05 DU06	Dean of the School of Art Director of the School of Art
DU07	Director of Music Performance Department
DU08, DU09	Professional teachers of School of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
DU10 DU11	Dean of the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences Associate Dean of the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences
DU12	Teacher of Animal Science, School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences
DU13	Teacher of Environmental Science, College of Agronomy and Biological Sciences
DU14	Teacher of Horticulture, College of Agronomy and Biological Sciences
DU15 DU16	Dean of School of Pharmacy Associate Dean of School of Pharmacy
DU17, DU18	Professional teachers of Pharmacy
DU19	Teachers of Art Design Major of Art College
DU20	Teachers of Ethnic Culture Center
DU21	Section chief of University-Local Government Cooperation Section
DU22, DU23, DU24, DU25, DU26, DU27	Students

).

3.3. Analytical Framework

Plenty of previous studies have focused on innovation systems; for instance, the innovation system approach [37,38] and the triple-helix model of university–industry–government relations [39,40]. These theories and frameworks apply a wide socio-economic stance and discuss universities’ roles among other sectors in the literature of innovation study. To analyze the organizational innovation process, while accentuating universities’ innovative function, Cai introduced a framework, based on Levine’s (1980) framework of institutionalization of innovation [41]. Cai’s framework helped to capture the more sophisticated and interactive features of the innovation process. Unlike some previous studies, it focuses on conceptualizing the concept of innovation and on the static state of innovation [42]. This framework considers the nature, aim, and type of innovation activities, as well as the measures taken from initiating innovation to institutionalizing it. Therefore, innovation in this framework emerges at different stages: (1) when a need is recognized (identifying the problem to solve and people to involve); (2) when a plan is made to address the problem and implement measures; (3) when the process is initiated and challenges are addressed; (4) when practices are institutionalized and theoretical, practical, and cross-disciplinary knowledge is transformed into new knowledge.

The framework points out that the three most significant factors affecting the institutionalization of innovation at the organizational level are profitability, compatibility, and agency (Figure 1). The implementation of innovative practices and the measures that can facilitate them are related to one or more of these factors. Profitability indicates the tangible or intangible merits that the organization or individuals engaging in the innovative process might gain. As innovation can hardly result in immediate outcomes, profitability, as the potential benefit, becomes the impetus for innovative efforts [43]. Profitability suggests two levels of potential benefits: general profits, and the self-interests of those individuals who engage in innovative practices. In our study, general profitability meant the better development and higher prestige of universities, better graduate employability, faster advancement of the studied region, and lower costs and higher efficiency for industries. In our study, self-interest meant the expected personal incomes for university leaders, promotion opportunities for teachers, better revenues for local companies, students’ better learning outcomes and graduates’ higher incomes.

Compatibility refers to the extent to which the values, norms, and aims of an innovation are consistent with those in the organizational environment or social context. If the innovation is very distinct, with original settings and principles, the institutionalization of that innovation encounters more challenges [44,45]. Compatibility has different aspects: external and internal. In this study, external compatibility included national policies, provincial and local policies, and the demands of local industries related to talents. Internal compatibility meant the congruence of innovative practices with the administrative structures of the university and institutional cultures.

Agency means individuals’ initiatives that change the current rules to drive the process of advancement. These individuals, also called “institutional entrepreneurs”, can be policymakers, senior academic leaders, scholars, administrators, and students. They can play important roles in a university’s engagement in local industry and innovation development [46]. In this study, policy analysis and interview protocol were designed around these three factors. For instance, the interview questions included: What kinds of industries gained the most attention from universities and why? Who identified the local industrial needs, and how did they address them? What initiatives were taken to deal with the integration process? How did national and provincial policies affect the UASs? In what ways did the integration improve university–enterprise cooperation? What were the successful and unsuccessful cases?

3.4. Data Analysis

With the three-factor framework, we focused on analyzing the organizational innovation of UASs in university–industry cooperation in both teaching and learning and research and development. Single-case analysis and cross-case analysis were conducted, according to the principles of the multiple case study method mentioned above. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We also wrote interview notes after each interview to reflect on the most impressive thoughts and ideas in the conversations. Two rounds of coding were done with the transcripts. The first one categorized relevant information (e.g., phrases and sentences), based on Merriam’s suggestions to go through four steps during coding: inductive coding, both inductive and deductive coding, discovery and verification, and then, primarily, deductive coding [47]. The first author coded first, and the second and third authors reviewed these codes. In the second round of coding, the themes and codes were condensed to be more theme focused, so they could be analyzed more accurately. After all the interviews were finished in a case study institution, a case summary was written to crystallize the authors’ important thoughts, unexpected discoveries, and theoretical and methodological reflections, based on the analytical framework.

For cross-case analysis, a case-oriented approach was applied. A case-oriented approach usually starts with conceptualization, based on the particular situations of cases, and involves a small number of cases. In this approach, each case is considered with its whole system, including its discourses, structures, associations, and elements. Implicit similarities and significant associations are sought, various outcomes are compared across cases with the help of frameworks, and, then, further generalization and conceptualization starts. In this study, the historical contexts of the three UASs, their organizational backgrounds, and the social environments in their cities and in Yunnan Province were explained. Cases were analyzed based on the three main elements in Cai’s framework.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Key Factors of Organizational Innovation of UASs

According to the analytical framework, the most crucial factors affecting the organizational innovation process fall into the categories of external compatibility, internal compatibility, general profitability, and self-interest profitability. In this study, external compatibility focused on the extent to which the mission of a UAS conformed to national policies, the legal context in the province and the local city, and regional industrial demands. Internal compatibility examined the extent to which the practice of a UAS was well-matched with both its administrative structure and institutional cultures. General profitability concerned the extent to which the university gained benefits from engaging in the innovation system, as well as the profit-making for regions and industries. Self-interest profitability considered the extent to which the participators in the UAS, who engaged in the innovative activities, gained tangible and intangible benefits. The key participators included university leaders, teachers, and local industry experts. Finally, the four factors with specific indicators determined the level of organizational innovation used by the UAS to engage in the regional innovation system.

Table 2. Key factors affecting the organizational innovation at the UAS case study institutions.

Key Factors of Organizational Innovation at UASs		UASs Case Universities
Factors	Specific Indicators	KU	BU	DU
External Compatibility	Imperatives of national policies	medium	very low	medium
	Legal context in province and local city	medium	medium	medium
	Regional industrial demands	high	medium	high
Internal Compatibility	Administrative structure	medium	high	medium
	Institutional cultures	medium	medium	medium
General Profitability	The development of the university	high	high	high
	The advancement of the region and industry	high	high	very high
Self-interest Profitability	Personal incomes for university leaders	high	high	high
	Promotion opportunities for teachers	medium	very high	medium
	Revenues of local industry experts	low	high	low
Level of organizational innovation		Medium	Very high	High

Note: high represents compatible or profitable; low represents incompatible or unprofitable. Source: adapted from Cai [31].

presents a summary of the empirical results related to the three UAS case studies.

The three UAS case studies had to comply with national and provincial policies to promote and upgrade their institutional organization and embrace the demands of regional industries. However, unlike the UASs in Germany, the UASs located in less-developed areas of China could barely access adequate funds and resources from local government and small- and middle-sized companies. Furthermore, their internal institutional administrations were struggling to survive by swaying between “conventions” or “innovations”, and the planning and development of disciplines were often trapped in a struggle between “practical applications” or “theoretical research”. In these circumstances, it was a win–win situation for UASs to closely collaborate with local government and industries with the aim of drawing on diverse resources, jointly training applied talents, and conducting applied science research. In the long term, the regional industries could gain more capable labor force from the UASs, which would further enhance research and development activities. In addition, the benefits received by different stakeholders had different weights. The intentions of university leaders to drive organizational innovation forward varied from person to person. Teachers generally benefited from enriched course cases, internship offers, and perspectives and skills obtained from industries, and were more likely to gain promotions and incentive remuneration. By contrast, industry experts had to “do much but get little” when coaching students, without much payment or honors in the two public case UASs (KU, DU). This partly resulted in a lack of motivation for deeper cooperation from the industrial side.

4.1.1. External Compatibility

The central government of China issued a series of national policies to support the development of UASs in 2014. Their principal features are: (1) highlighting the importance of UASs in the national higher education system; (2) emphasizing the vital functions of UASs in regional development; (3) encouraging university–industry collaboration in teaching and learning for UASs. The Modern Vocational Education System Construction Plan (2014–2020), issued in 2014, suggested that the Central and Western local governments devoted themselves to raising funds for promoting regional development through the efforts of UASs. The Relevant Work on Supporting the Development of UASs, released in 2019, proposed 100-million-yuan of financial support for each UAS recommended by the province, for a total quota of 100 UASs. However, the welfare embedded in these national policies predominantly flowed to developed areas, which held greater authority than their less-developed counterparts. The national policies are expected to provide equal financial support to UASs across different regions. However, the financial pressures transferred to local governments, which resulted in a “Matthew Effect” of making “the strong stronger and the weak weaker” among UASs (BU02, DU04). Therefore, the three UAS case studies, on the one hand, conformed to the national trend of vigorously developing UASs, but were, on the other hand, subjected to a lack of special funds or policies supporting less-developed areas from the central government. The financial obstacles encountered by BU were even worse than the other two case studies, due to its private nature, which meant the government was not obligated to financially support it.

The Yunnan provincial government was responsive to the national initiatives related to developing local UASs and cultivating local applied talents. It has issued related policies, such as the Outline of the National Plan for Medium- and Long-Term Education Reform and Development, 2010–2020 (MOE, 2010) and the Guiding Opinions of the Ministry of Education, Development and Reform Commission, and Ministry of Finance on Guiding some Undergraduate Universities to Transform to Application-Oriented Universities (2015). These provincial policies have endeavored to encourage enterprises to engage in teaching, pedagogical innovation, curriculum development, and textbook co-authoring with HEIs. Along with a series of guidelines created by the Ministry of Education for transforming local undergraduate universities into UASs, Yunnan Province Education Department (YPED) piloted the reform of nine local universities to serve the development of the regional economy from 2014 to 2016. Under such policy guidance, in 2017, six UASs were confirmed as Applied Undergraduate Talent Training Demonstration Institutions, including KU and BU. Subsequently, DU was also selected as a demonstration UAS in 2019. As the only private UAS in the first batch of demonstration institutions, BU presented outstanding achievements in entrepreneurial education. However, tensions existed between the new initiatives and old standards. For example, the standard curriculum quality assessment for HEIs did not match the demands of application-oriented teaching in the UASs. Furthermore, plunging into long-term budget deficit, the provincial government struggled to meet its promised funds for the transformation of UASs through activities such as constructing smart classrooms or project-based teaching and learning, especially for non-capital cities (BU01, DU01, DU03, DU04).

As the gateway to Southeast Asia, Yunnan Province is a pivotal area in the national Belt-and-Road development strategy. It covers an area of 394,100 square kilometers, and 88.64% of this area is mountain plateau terrain. Thus, it is rich in natural resources of animals, plants, non-ferrous metals, and tourist attractions. As a result of the geographical features of the terrain, its key industries are concentrated in modern agriculture on the plateau, tourism and culture, biomedicine and health, new materials, modern logistics, food, and consumer goods manufacturing. The UAS case studies consciously designed their distribution of disciplines according to such regional industrial demands and trained relevant applied talents (KU01, BU01, DU01). For example, DU established a triple discipline cluster of “biomedicine, minority culture, and ecological environment” for regional advancement. Its applied science research on plateau-based modern agriculture and phytoecology not only served the industries of west Yunnan, but also radiated throughout other countries in South Asia, such as India, Laos, and Nepal (DU17). KU established professional education in tourism, chemical engineering, agriculture, and life sciences to satisfy the regional demands for human resources. Moreover, BU organized an investigation team to visit local companies regularly to collect their feedback on labor demands and, based on this feedback, adjusted its strategy of applied talent training. Nevertheless, rapid changes in the industries brought uncertainty about the direction in cultivating applied talents tailored to industrial needs (BU01, KU01).

4.1.2. Internal Compatibility

Internal compatibility examined whether the management practices of UASs were consistent with their administrative structures and institutional cultures. The strategical goals of the UAS case studies all concentrated on cultivating high-quality applied talents, enhancing applied science research, serving regional industries and societies, and cooperating with South and Southeast Asia. Nonetheless, there were vivid distinctions among the unique characteristics of the UAS case study institutional cultures (

Table 3. The institutional culture and administrative structure of the three UAS case studies.

UASs	Internal Compatibility	Level of Organizational Innovation	Innovation Initiatives
KU	Institutional culture	medium	-wide range of discipline construction -emphasis on applied research -providing services for regional society
	Administrative structure	medium	-public university governing system (1) organizational leadership system (2) academic governance system (3) teaching and research organization (4) democratic supervision system (5) counseling system
BU	Institutional culture	high	-innovation and entrepreneurship education -normalization of reform -retention of open attitudes -efficient working group on reform
	Administrative structure	medium	-pioneer private university (1) board of directors (2) president (3) academic board (4) teaching committee (5) student affairs committee (6) executive agencies
DU	Institutional culture	medium	-actively conduct applied sciences research and innovation -great importance attached to research on medicine, ecology, and minorities - rooted in west Yunnan, serving to west Yunnan
	Administrative structure	medium	-jointly constructed by state and local government (1) the Communist Party management committee (2) administrative units (3) teaching support logistics department (4) affiliated institutions

). KU and DU were traditional public universities that had experienced several mergers. DU was the only university that was far away from the capital city but possessed the right to grant master’s and doctoral (2021) degrees in west Yunnan. Inheriting characteristics from previous colleges, and functioning as a synthesis of applied and research universities, both KU and DU attached great importance to applied science research. Due to their public nature, KU and DU had an administrative structure led by the Communist Party. Moreover, KU managed the university using five systems, namely an organizational leadership system, an academic governance system, a teaching and research organization, a democratic supervision system, and a counseling system. As Zhang argued, the decision-making system, execution system, supervision system, and common management system jointly worked toward the coordinated operation of university internal governance in Chinese public universities [48]. In a sense, the administrative structures of KU and DU were compatible with their institutional cultures and strategic goals as public universities. By contrast, BU was a newly established private university, funded by entrepreneurs who inserted into the institution a gene of risk-taking, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit. Moreover, its management team was inclined to accept new patterns of governance and pursue working efficiency (BU01, BU05). BU adopted an adjustable private administrative structure with a board of directors, a president, an academic board, a teaching committee, a student affairs committee, and executive agencies. In particular, the student affairs committee was separate from the executive agencies, which showed extraordinary attention to the students.

However, organizational innovation might arouse contradictory conflicts between the “old institutional system” and “new reform conceptions”. KU was a typical public university that was not fueled with sufficient incentives for teachers to reform. With the inborn advantages of being located in the capital city, it was placed in a comfort zone that encouraged it to follow the previous system. One interviewee said, “Indeed, it is extremely difficult for functional departments to drive forward the reform among teachers. It would be unsuccessful unless to take forceful measures. It also worked when the university delegated the authority of resource allocation, personnel appointment and assessment to the department” (KU01). Furthermore, one obstacle KU faced in promoting collaboration with enterprises was its fixed teaching arrangements. The invited speakers from companies needed to follow the exact teaching time for a course. regardless of their work schedules (KU03). Therefore, flexibility was essential to KU’s ability to undertake organizational innovation. DU was another case with a rigid mechanism for managing and allocating funds. Its performance priority was to stimulate the faculty to apply for national research programs, instead of conducting joint research with local enterprises. Elder faculty members who had merged from vocational colleges were not competent in research (DU04). For the faculty members, it was extremely difficult to successfully apply for competitive projects with limited support for resources and equipment. Even if they received project funds, only a very small amount would be allocated to individuals (DU01). This administrative mechanism was not effective in enabling the faculty to participate in regional innovation. The institutional challenges of BU originated from its survival pressure as a private university. For example, it was still difficult to increase the student enrollment quota from the provincial government, despite their great efforts to attract good students (BU03). In addition, many senior faculty members or PhD members were unwilling to join a private university because they were worried about instability in their career path (BU04). This resulted in a shortage of highly educated and experienced faculty members to support BU’s organizational innovation.

4.1.3. General Profitability

As active innovators, UASs expected to gain generous benefits from participating in the regional innovation system and furthering its development. Firstly, this participation was a path toward discovering how to develop a unique and remarkable university in a certain area. This was conducive to UASs’ winning a good social reputation and expanding their presence and impact. It was even more important for a private university to acquire social recognition, which determined the effectiveness of its student recruitment. Secondly, as rewards for collaboration with enterprises, UASs established internship bases for students and obtained funds, equipment, experts, and skill training. Co-teaching by professional teachers and industry experts enhanced both the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of students, thereby improving their competitiveness in employment. Thirdly, the UASs’ networks for raising funds were further broadened through jointly applied science research with government and industries. As the UASs were located in less-developed regions, a lack of funds became the biggest obstacle to their development; any initiatives that were effective at receiving funds were considered worthwhile. However, to achieve these ambitions, the UASs needed to afford the cost of organizational management and innovation, including top-level design, administrative regulations, and working groups. This required investing in sufficient human resources and adequate funding. In addition, internally, they attempted to reconcile the contradiction between conservative organizational cultures and new reform measures. Externally, they sought opportunities to connect, integrate, and cooperate with different stakeholders in the regional innovation system.

The cooperation between government–UASs–enterprises created continuous energy for regional innovation, as well as for industrial development. For less-developed areas, this cooperation was the most effective way to cultivate capable, suitable, and retainable applied talents for local industries. Well-operated cooperation established a brand for the local city and gradually increased the ability of local enterprises to raise money. Nevertheless, the cost for stakeholders varied. Local government functioned as a convenor that could gather different stakeholders, including industrial associations, universities, and companies. It was able to unveil relevant policies, provide an exchange platform, and create a favorable environment. Similarly, the industrial associations served as bridges that could link enterprises with UASs by regularly organizing interchange activities and conferences. In contrast, companies were burdened with the most expensive costs. For preliminary cooperation, companies invested in a site and staff to train students in practical skills. For deeper cooperation with universities, the cost frequently increased. For example, a joint laboratory required purchasing equipment, inputting operational funds, and designating experienced experts to work out training plans, design courses, and instruct operations on campus. Therefore, arousing the enthusiasm of local companies to invest labor and financial resources into a regional innovation system, when there was no immediate payoff for the companies, was a critical issue.

4.1.4. Self-Interest Profitability

Self-interest profitability can mainly be embodied in university leaders, teachers, and industry experts. As the key organizational entrepreneurs, university leaders in this study benefited from reform achievements by gaining recognition and promotion. They also obtained a sense of challenge and accomplishment from overcoming difficulties (BU01). With a more flexible promotion system, BU promoted and rewarded young leaders who contributed to crucial decision-making (BU05). Even in public universities, a good working reputation was conducive to further promotion within the university or among other universities. Moreover, communication with government, industries, and companies was an effective way for university leaders to establish well-connected interpersonal networks. Therefore, it was beneficial to the management team to promote the integration of organizational innovation with the regional innovation system. However, it is worth noting that this also brought great stress to university leaders. In particular, at the private university, there was a sense of crisis related to institutional survival- leaders were worried the university might close (BU03, BU06). Sometimes, the university leaders might face huge practical difficulties in promoting reforms and innovations. This energy-consuming process required their continual inner drive, work enthusiasm, and social mission.

Teachers at UASs gained both direct and indirect benefits from the process of integrating the UASs into the regional innovation system. The most direct benefits were the rewards they received from the university to encourage them to collaborate with local companies in teaching and learning. These rewards could be an incentive bonus, such as the doubled course remuneration provided by BU, and the counterpart funding of national research programs at DU. Collaborative funds for applied science research offered by local companies were also significant funding sources for teachers at UASs. However, in less-developed areas, companies seldom had such solid capital resources. Another direct benefit was career development and promotion of teachers with a “double qualified” title gained. BU attempted to have varied subsidy and reward standards corresponding with the levels of elementary, intermediate, and advanced “double qualified” teachers. The other two UAS case studies also appreciated the achievements of “double qualified” teachers who worked to integrate with regional industries. In contrast, indirect benefits were improvements in the capabilities and skills of teachers to collaborate with local companies. This collaboration could increase their practical experience and their insight into updating industry frontiers. Furthermore, teachers could borrow industry perspectives and cases for use in their course content to refresh their teaching. Communication with local companies and industry experts also provided a solid foundation for further joint applied sciences research. However, integration with the development of regional industries cost teachers tremendous amounts of energy and time. Under heavy pressure to do both teaching and research, teachers sometimes preferred to finish only basic tasks, especially the “visible” and “profitable” research work. In this case, they placed lower priority on efforts to cooperate with local companies.

The self-interest profitability industry experts gained from cooperation with UASs depended on their personal preferences. The cooperating universities generally offered industry experts well-respected titles, such as “enterprise mentor“ or “industry leader”, but they received little monetary return, or were even expected to work for free in less-developed areas. One category of enterprise mentors comprised those who were invited by a university to give a speech or instruct courses. Such mentors could receive little payment for teaching in public universities. Compared with 80 yuan (11.44 US dollar) per hour for university teachers, these mentors could gain about 200 yuan (28.6 US dollar) per hour, but this amount was still very low and lacked any other welfare (DU01). Another kind of enterprise mentor guided students’ practical operations in their own institutions. For many of these mentors, this guidance was additional, free work they completed in order to train apprentices (DU04). The potential benefits included discovering and working with future suitable employees. Additionally, by expanding their individual influence, enterprise mentors could search for more opportunities to collaborate with teachers in applied sciences research. However, the cost for them was plenty of time and energy, as well as the adaptive cost of communication and instruction. For public universities, they might also suffer complicated hiring and auditing procedures to ensure the consistency of teaching ideas (KU01, DU01). In contrast, to attract more enterprise mentors from companies, the private university in this study provided considerable payments and flexible hiring procedures (BU03, BU04). The leaders of key company partners could participate in the governance of the university, propose their demands about talents, and select capable employees based on internships (BU09, BU11).

4.2. The Initiatives Institutional Entrepreneurs Took to Tackle Challenges

4.2.1. The University Leaders

Faced with numerous internal and external incompatibility issues, the decision-makers of the UAS case studies responded actively. The leaders of the three UAS case studies reached a unanimous consensus on cultivating applied talents to serve the regional economic development of Yunnan Province. Focusing on this concept, the UAS case studies arranged their training programs, professional settings, and enterprise cooperation around it. When they encountered difficulties, the leaders tried their best to figure out innovative solutions. For example, one of the essential problems faced by BU was that it had a majority of young teachers who lacked teaching and work experience. After realizing this problem, the president decided to hire about 380 newly retired teachers from other renowned universities to lead the young teachers in constructing course systems (BU01). These retired teachers, as academic leaders, were responsible for improving the teaching capabilities of the young teachers, building courses and disciplines, and conducting curriculum research. The extensive experience of the retired teachers was effectively used in this university to solve the capability issues of its faculty. Similarly, the management team at KU made sufficient preparations for students to build a platform of university–enterprise cooperation. As a result, its cooperation with the Kunming Institute of Food and Drug Research and Quality was quite deep and useful. Teachers and students participated in the entire production and regular testing processes of this institute. Furthermore, the leaders of DU promoted cooperation with local government and industries and held joint meetings every year to understand the needs of regional development.

The president of each university was the spiritual leader of the whole UAS. They determined the internal atmosphere, institutional culture, and campus spirit of the entire university. The principal of BU once was in charge of teaching at another public university. Therefore, he was familiar with teaching management and was able to promote a vigorous curriculum reform beginning in 2016. BU’s teaching achievements won the first and second prizes of the Yunnan Provincial Excellent Teaching Achievement Award. Moreover, its founder and chairman injected genes of risk-taking, innovation, entrepreneurship, and hard work into the university (BU05). This created an atmosphere of innovation and entrepreneurship. In competitions of innovation and entrepreneurship, 114 students won national awards and 414 students won provincial awards. The university–industry collaboration of DU also flourished under several key presidents. In 2009, DU introduced a vice president from the School of Pharmacy of Zhejiang University. He opened a new world for the integration of industry and education at this university. One way he did this was to sign training contracts with enterprises from other provinces and cities to provide students with scholarships and stipends and the other was to promote Dali Pharmaceutical to invest 1 million yuan in establishing a teaching platform. In an economically less-developed area like west Yunnan, it was indispensable to obtain principals and leaders with the perseverance, vision, and passion to implement flexible, open, and resilient concepts about the integration of industry and the regional innovation system.

4.2.2. The Middle-Level Leaders

The middle-level managers were the bridges of information transmission and decision-making execution in the UASs. They needed to clearly understand the intentions of the management decision makers, such as the concepts and development direction of the UASs. The goal of middle-level management was to implement the development goals of their universities (KU01). Moreover, the middle-level managers also needed to convey the philosophy of the UASs from the top down. One approach was to establish working groups to figure out management policies and provide a cooperative platform (BU05). Another approach was to organize workshops among teachers to discuss training purposes and methods for applied talents (DU02). These approaches might help the entire top–down system of a university to develop along one main line.

More importantly, the hierarchical design of the governance system helped with implementing various activities of university-industry collaboration in teaching and learning. Take BU as an example. Its first step was to establish a lead working group for university–industry collaboration in teaching and learning. It was composed of the president, vice presidents, and heads of each division. The main responsibilities of the lead working group included formulating university–industry integration policies and planning and approving cooperation agreements for major cooperative projects, such as setting up customized classes and industrial colleges. The second step for management was to set up an executive office of university–industry collaboration to carry out the overall planning, management, coordination, and daily work determined by the lead working group. The third step was to set up departmental working groups within each department. The dean of each department served as the person in charge, and the deputy deans, directors, and staff were team members. This cooperation and close exchange at the three working layers ensured the relatively smooth execution progress of university–industry cooperation in teaching and learning.

4.2.3. The Teachers

The teachers were the knowledge disseminators and industry practitioners who guided the applied talent training in the UASs. Relying only on textbook knowledge transfer could not meet the demand for applied talents for local industries. In contrast, combining theoretical knowledge with industry practice was conducive to integrating student training into the regional development system. Within the governance system, the evaluation of “dual-qualified” teachers complied with this vision. Under the guidance of this evaluation, teachers tended to take the initiative to cooperate with local companies to optimize courses. Communication with enterprises also helped teachers understand the development trends of their industry and thereby update their teaching content. For example, the teachers of Logistics Teaching and Research at KU established a cooperative relationship with Jingdong (JD). This university hired the general manager of JD Logistics Yunnan as an enterprise mentor who could teach on campus. The young teachers in the Center of Logistics Teaching and Research also came to this class to learn knowledge from industry (KU06). These teachers led students to join the JD training base for specific work over more than 20 days. After that, JD gave feedback to the young teachers on how to incorporate student training into industry practice. Throughout this course, the young teachers obtained teaching methods, came to understand industry frontiers, and gained experience cooperating with enterprises. Another example was one of the best courses at BU, called Flat Graph Recognition. The teacher of this course claimed that he had received four different grants totaling 165,000 yuan for university curriculum reform (BU14). With such strong support, he devoted himself to constructing this course, including producing more than 400 teaching tools and establishing an online learning platform. So far, his WeChat public platform has released more than 1600 learning resources. This platform attracted 20,000 followers, half of whom came from developed cities outside Yunnan Province, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau. This kind of educational resource, which spread from a less-developed area to developed areas, was praiseworthy for its excellent performance.

Teachers at DU led students to participate in applied science research serving local government and industries. This university was a comprehensively developed UAS that emphasized scientific research work with regional characteristics. In the assessment of its teachers, scientific research had a greater weight than teaching (DU12, DU13). With the help of the local government, the School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences established cooperation with many local farm product enterprises (DU12). On the one hand, it built cooperative scientific research projects with these companies, aiming to solve practical problems in planting and production. On the other hand, students followed teachers to participate in the actual work and research of these companies. Such a combination of applied sciences research and practices could effectively serve the demands of these small- and medium-sized local farm product companies. Similarly, many teachers in the School of Pharmacy took undergraduates and graduate students to engage in local phytopharmacological research. This research included both purely theoretical research and the development of new drugs in enterprise applications (DU15). In addition, because of insufficient teaching support funds, teachers often took their students to walk for 6 h instead of taking a bus to the learning base on the top of a mountain. In return, this process also inspired in students hard work, perseverance, and the cherishing of learning opportunities.

4.2.4. The Students

The students in the UASs worked hard to satisfy the employment demands of regional industries. Many of them chose to study in UASs to obtain a bachelor’s degree and then find a job after graduation (BU01). After they entered the university, they studied hard and actively participated in practices to enhance their employment competitiveness. During the process of cooperative teaching between UASs and companies, the companies selected outstanding students to stay for work. The common characteristics of these selected students included working diligently and having strong hands-on ability (BU10). More importantly, they were willing to stay and work in less-developed areas instead of prosperous cities (BU11). For those small- and medium-sized companies located in less-developed areas, it was extremely important to retain practical and capable talents. For students who had an internship in a partner company, the practical experience could give them some priority in job opportunities.

A few students made efforts to obtain more vocational certificates and higher academic qualifications. Under the premise that there was no excessive financial burden for their families, about half of the students at DU took the postgraduate entrance examination (DU22). Although the exam success rate was only about 20–30%, many students applied for graduate programs within Yunnan Province. They believed that the best students should pass the postgraduate entrance examination and further continue their studies (DU25). Obtaining a higher level of academic qualifications enabled students to have a deeper understanding of their majors and find a better job (DU26). Even if they originally had had no intention to do so at the beginning, some students chose to take the postgraduate entrance examination with the encouragement of teachers and other classmates (DU24). Pursuing a higher degree also enhanced the overall capacity of students to participate in, and promote, regional development.

5. Conclusions and Implications

UASs are primary platforms for training skillful and suitable talents for local industries in less-developed regions. To better serve regional innovation systems, they work closely with local governments and industries. Furthermore, they adjust their professional settings and training programs to labor needs of regional development. For local industries, the UASs provide suitable applied talents and transfer applied sciences research. Especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises located in remote regions, cooperation with UASs could guarantee a stable supply of applied talents. However, because of geographical disadvantages, these UASs face numerous challenges related to compatibility and profitability during the process of organizational innovation. This study opens a window to the development dilemmas faced by UASs in China’s less-developed regions.

From the perspective of external compatibility, despite policy documents issued by both national and provincial governments, there was a lack of an assurance mechanisms for financial resources to be allocated properly and sufficiently. Moreover, lagging economic development brought a higher risk of market failure [49]. Changing industry demands caused more uncertainty about the direction of talent training. However, the biggest problem in western Yunnan was the lack of mature industrial chains and large factories to support regional innovation. From the perspective of internal compatibility, with established administrative structures, the UAS case studies had a clear goal to cultivate highly skilled applied talents to serve local industries. Nevertheless, contradictions emerged between new initiatives and old systems, including resistance to reform, fixed mechanisms, and centralized funding management. For the private university, the pressure to survive stimulated decision-making.

Beyond that, the general profitability of the universities and local industries was obvious. As great beneficiaries, the UASs gained a practice base, multiple funds, equipment, and experts from cooperation with local companies. The regional industries obtained continuous development by absorbing talents and conducting applied research. However, the cost for companies was highest, as their role was to enhance well-running and deep cooperation. They were expected to input funds, equipment, experts, and training. As they gained no immediate payoffs from this investment, it was crucial to motivate companies to afford this cost. In terms of self-interest profitability, university leaders gained several types of recognition and personal benefits, such as promotion, enhanced reputation, better interpersonal networks, and a sense of accomplishment. However, it was stressful for them to make achievements in organizational innovation. Teachers received the direct benefits of rewards, funds, and bonuses, as well as the indirect benefits of improved capabilities and skills. However, under an evaluation system that gave more priority to research, they needed to balance “research”, “teaching”, and “cooperation”. By contrast, the industry experts paid more than either university leaders or teachers. As enterprise mentors, they had the task to teach, train, and guide students for little reward. Especially in the public universities, a complex hiring and auditing process frustrated them. The situation in the private university was better because of its strong intention to attract enterprise mentors to enhance student employment.

When a region lacks geographical advantages, the organizational innovation of its UASs, supported by institutional entrepreneurs, is its core driving force (Figure 2). In the loop of a regional innovation system, the three main goals of organizational innovation are to train applied talents, conduct applied sciences research, and serve regional development. To fulfill this vision, organizational innovation aims to promote government–industry–UAS collaboration to create an effective revolving door of effective access to these resources. Accordingly, UAS–enterprise collaboration in teaching and learning is a fundamental approach to carrying out practical teaching and joint research. University leaders make efforts to construct a talent training system by expanding cooperation channels, constructing practice courses, and hiring industrial experts. More importantly, the core leaders maintain flexibility and enthusiasm for dealing with difficult situations and serving regional development. Their spirit, vision, and attitude directly determine the institutional culture of their university. In line with this, middle-level leaders are responsible for implementing decisions. They establish working groups, organize workshops, and create a hierarchical governance system to ensure the implementation of leadership decisions. As the implementers of applied talent training, “dual-qualified” teachers collaborate with local enterprises to jointly develop courses, carry out applied sciences research and practice, and participate in regional services. In addition, many students in UASs study quite hard to improve their employment competitiveness. They work diligently to gain knowledge, improve their hands-on skills, and cherish the opportunity to enter local companies. Moreover, some outstanding students try their best to get higher degrees by releasing their family from providing funding support. By the joint efforts of institutional entrepreneurs, the gears of the regional innovation system rotate, showing a tenacious vitality in less-developed regions.

This study enriches Cai’s analytical framework in the following three aspects. First, the analysis objects expanded from single to multiple cross-case analysis. This empirical research of three UAS case studies reflected the collective experiences and dilemmas of these types of universities, as well as the solutions undertaken by different individual universities. The cross-case analysis of multiple research objects made the research content richer and more comprehensive. Second, in line with the literature, which shows that innovation processes occur in multiple geographical locations [3], and this study considered the distinctions between different regions due to their economic conditions and geographical environments. Accordingly, the discussion was directed to a specific regional context and its relationship to UASs. Compared with the prosperous eastern regions of China, the higher education system in the less-developed western regions lacked research attention. However, it is precisely in this area that UASs carry the heavy responsibility of providing suitable talents for incomplete industrial chains and small- and medium-sized enterprises. The interaction between the UASs and local industry largely determines the development of regional innovation. Third, the subjective initiatives of institutional entrepreneurs play a more critical role in less-developed areas. All university players, including university leaders, middle-level leaders, teachers, and students, are important institutional entrepreneurs in promoting regional innovation.

Echoing the theoretical framework, the practical guidance recommendations derived from this study focus on agents as well as external policy makers. At the institutional level, in less-developed areas, it is even riskier for a UAS to stay in its comfort zone rather than to embark on organizational innovation that fits regional sustainable innovation. Although entering the revolving door of integrating government and industry resources offers challenges, it is the only path to survive in the dynamic rotating gears of innovation. Therefore, UASs should hunt for all opportunities to incorporate themselves into the regional innovation system in many different ways, not limited themselves to cooperating with government, industry associations and middle- and small-sized local firms, but, more importantly, they should arouse the enthusiasms of all institutional entrepreneurs to contribute their invaluable input. If these and other stakeholders are kept fresh and vital, ways will be found to turn the wheel of the regional innovation system.

To solve the collective dilemma of UASs in less-developed areas, not just the university initiatives matter, but also the support of their management teams, teachers, and students. More significantly, local, provincial, and central governments should put themselves in the shoes of UASs and thereby give them effective, powerful, and targeted funding support and policy priorities to stimulate regional innovation. For example, if the government could provide continuous incentive funds for UASs in less-developed regions to construct practical curricula in cooperation with local firms, it would achieve the sustainable development of human resources in the innovation systems. Furthermore, the policy blank regarding the evaluation system of UASs, which differs vastly from that of research universities, needs to be filled. The sufferings of UASs in less-developed regions teach the lesson that a more multiple, diverse, and application-oriented performance evaluations should be considered. Particularly, more attention must be paid to the cultivation of applied talents with local characteristics to satisfy the demands in less-developed regions. The three UAS case studies in this study are all well-known universities in Yunnan Province. It is worth noting that other, less prestigious, universities may face even more serious challenges and difficulties. Further research on these types of universities would allow us to look not only to develop a blueprint for a thriving higher education system, but also to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how non-mainstream universities survive, thrive, and contribute to regional development.