Universities in the Era of Green Transition: Governing Innovation Ecosystems at Wageningen University & Research

This article analyzes the governance model of the green innovation ecosystem at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) as an exemplary case of reconfiguring the role of the university in the era of sustainable development. Drawing on a qualitative case study approach and content analysis of strategic documents, annual reports, sustainability reports, and academic literature, the study clarifies how WUR integrates sustainable development into its institutional mission, organizational structure, and open collaboration ecosystem. The findings indicate that: (i) sustainable development is established as a long-term strategic axis, institutionalizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into performance indicators and coordination mechanisms; (ii) the chair group model combined with data-driven governance creates a flexible, interdisciplinary structure with strong adaptive capacity; and (iii) Wageningen Campus operates as an open innovation platform that fosters co-creation among the university, industry, and societal actors in the transformation of sustainable agri-food systems. Based on these findings, the article proposes the concept of “green innovation ecosystem governance” as an institutional capacity integrating strategy, structure, and ecosystem, thereby contributing to the advancement of university governance research in the context of global green transition.