Date of Award
2019
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (College of Business)
Schools and Centres
Business
First Supervisor
Dr Alessandro Bressan
Second Supervisor
Professor Helene de Burgh-Woodman
Abstract
This study seeks to understand the impact of University-Based Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (UBEE), particularly entrepreneurial support infrastructure within a university ecosystem on the entrepreneurial intentions of students in South India. A UBEE can directly affect the likelihood that students identify and exploit entrepreneurial opportunities, which, affects their entrepreneurial intentions. India is one of the top three countries globally in terms of the number of start-ups and is projected to host over 10,500 start-ups by 2020. However, there is a dearth of research investigating the impact of university entrepreneurial support initiatives on students’ entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. This is especially true in the Indian context despite its start-up friendly policies. This study aims to address this gap and contribute to advance knowledge in the area of UBEE research.
Grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, this study takes an ecosystem approach that considers the interactions and inter-dependencies among different elements of UBEE, such as entrepreneurial support initiatives and students’ beliefs and intentions to start up. This study adopts a quantitative research design.
Results suggest that the entrepreneurial support infrastructure within a UBEE significantly influences beliefs of entrepreneurial self-efficacy in students, which in turn predicts the intentions of students to startup new ventures. This study found that entrepreneurial self-efficacy has a mediating effect between the university ecosystem and entrepreneurial intentions of students in South India. Findings of this study have several practical and policy implications for government, university management and entrepreneurship educators. This study contributes to the emerging literature on university-based entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Publication Details
Subhadrammal, D. (2019). University- based entrepreneurial ecosystem and entrepreneurial intentions: Evidence from South India [Doctor of Philosophy (College of Business)]. The University of Notre Dame Australia. https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theses/286