Title: Student entrepreneurship and the university ecosystem: a multi-country empirical exploration

Authors: Michael H. Morris; Galina Shirokova; Tatyana Tsukanova

Addresses: Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611-7168, USA; St. Petersburg University, Graduate School of Management, 3 Volkhovsky Pereulok, St. Petersburg 199004, Russia ' Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg University, 3 Volkhovsky Pereulok, St. Petersburg 199004, Russia ' Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg University, 3 Volkhovsky Pereulok, St. Petersburg 199004, Russia

Abstract: Using an embeddedness perspective, a model and hypotheses are developed concerning the impact of the university entrepreneurial context on student start-up activity. Results based on analysis of the GUESSS database from 25 countries demonstrate that students' involvement in entrepreneurship-related curricular programs and co-curricular activities at university is positively related, and financial support from university is negatively related, to start-up activities undertaken by students. Prior business experience moderates the relationships between student involvement in university initiatives and start-up activities. The negative relationship between financial support and start-up activities is positively moderated by business experience. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: curricular programmes; co-curricular activities; embeddedness; financial support; start-up activities; student entrepreneurship; university ecosystems; higher education; student involvement; start-ups; prior experience; business experience.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2017.081251

European Journal of International Management, 2017 Vol.11 No.1, pp.65 - 85

Received: 12 May 2015
Accepted: 13 Aug 2015
Published online: 01 Jan 2017 *

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