EFFECT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECOSYSTEM ON ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION OF STUDENTS IN CASE OF ETHIOPIAN UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of entrepreneurship ecosystem on entrepreneurial intentions of Ethiopian university students. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data and analyzed through both descriptive and inferential statistics methods of data analysis. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used initially to extract important dimensions from the dataset; the hypothesized associations were then verified using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The finding of the study shows that entrepreneurial ecosystem have a significant and positive influence on students’ entrepreneurial intention in Ethiopian universities. Specifically, this study demonstrates that industry collaboration was the strongest predictor of entrepreneurial intention, followed by entrepreneurial support, entrepreneurial education, and availability and accessibility of incubation centers.