The Impact of Entrepreneurial Education on the Digital Entrepreneurship Intention of Saudi University Students to Endorse Vision 2030

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial education on the digital entrepreneurship intention of Saudi university students to endorse vision 2030. Saudi Arabia has a vision of reducing the unemployment rate from 11.6% to 7% by 2030 through increasing the desire of youth toward entrepreneurship in general and digital entrepreneurship in particular. The data of the study was gathered from three sources. First, the unemployment rate from 2016 to 2020 were collected from the general authority for statistics of Saudi Arabia. Second, it obtained students’ intention toward digital entrepreneurship by using a theory of planned behaviour questionnaire. Finally, it obtained experts’ perspectives on the main enablers and barriers to implementing digital entrepreneurship education in Saudi universities to increase students’ digital entrepreneurship intention by using semi-structured interviews. The research adopted a mixed-methods approach. The data was analysed predictively using Minitab forecasting software, quantitatively using SPSS, and qualitatively using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia could be 8.5% by 2030. This means that Saudi Arabia may not achieve the goal of reducing the unemployment rate by relying on entrepreneurship as a major source of employment. Furthermore, the results of SPSS showed that all factors (attitudes towards digital entrepreneurship [ATDE], perceived behavioural control [PBC] and digital entrepreneurship knowledge [DEK]) positively impacted digital entrepreneurship intention (DEI) of students, except subjective norms (SN) and educational support, while digital entrepreneurship knowledge positively impacted all the factors (ATDE, PBC, SN and DEI). Finally, experts believed that the two most important enablers were teaching digital entrepreneurship and the basics of programming in all disciplines in universities and changing the traditional business model of Saudi universities to entrepreneurial universities. In addition, the experts considered that the two main barriers were universities’ start-ups’ funding and the investment in renovating the overall education system to meet rapid technological change. Important implications for stakeholders are discussed.