In recent years, there has been increased pressure on universities to deliver on their third mission. In the UK context, universities are encouraged to explicitly assume responsibility for facilitating economic growth, with a particular emphasis being given to the role played by the research-led institu- tions. Using a broad definition of entrepreneurial practices in universities, the aim of this paper was to extend the analysis of entrepreneurial activities to teaching-led universities besides their research-intensive counterparts. Results, based on micro-data on over 22,000 academics in the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities across all higher education institutions in the UK, indicate that the levels and geographical reach of the diverse set of entrepreneurial practices conducted by research-intensive and teaching-led universities differ significantly. The underlying reasons for these differences are explored through the lens of institutional theory and by utilising the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition technique.