Regina Lenart

Jagiellonian University,

Krakow, Poland

E-mail: regina.lenart@uj.edu.pl

ORCID 0000-0002-9266-9638 

The academic ecosystems: A systematic literature review

Łukasz Sułkowski

Jagiellonian University,

Krakow, Poland

E-mail: lukasz.sulkowski@uj.edu.pl

ORCID 0000-0002-1248-2743

Abstract. The academic ecosystem is a new and postulated direction for transforming higher education institutions (HEIs). HEIs should not only become integrators of such ecosystems but also strive to create and maintain them. This is in line with the achievement of the third mission by universities around the world and the social, economic and cultural development of the regions in which they operate. Despite the importance of the academic ecosystem, knowledge on this subject is rather fragmented. To fill this gap, the aim of our study is to integrate and synthesize knowledge on the academic ecosystem and propose directions for future research in this area. Publications were collected using the Web of Science and Scopus databases and analyzed according to the Theory – Context – Characteristics – Methodology (TCCM) framework. A comprehensive conceptual framework of the academic ecosystem was provided, which synthesizes existing research and outlines future directions for further studies in the field of the academic ecosystem.

Received: August, 2024

1st Revision: May, 2025

Accepted: September, 2025

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2025/18-3/14

JEL Classification: O32, M54

Keywords: ecosystem, academic ecosystem, higher education institution, systematic literature review