The Role of Universities and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Producing Entrepreneurs for Industry 4.0

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is regarded as a tool to boost economic growth and alleviate poverty. A number of individuals from both developing and developed countries engage in entrepreneurial activities every year, but their success ratio is very low. In addition to that, recently scholars show concerns regarding the effectiveness of degree programs specialized in entrepreneurship being offered at universities in producing entrepreneurs for industry 4.0. This research aims to address these concerns studying the entrepreneurial intentions of students and the role played by Pakistani universities in producing entrepreneurs. To this end, we adopted data triangulation method by incorporating a case study method followed by semi-structured interviews. The results suggest that environmental factors significantly contribute to entrepreneurial intentions. Similarly, we found an underrepresentation of entrepreneurial courses at various degree programs in Pakistani universities. The findings further suggested that although relevant infrastructure and other facilities required by an effective entrepreneurial ecosystem are present in Pakistani universities, there is need of synchronization between the universities and elements of entrepreneurial ecosystem.