Research on factors influencing the academic entrepreneurial ability of teachers in the digital age: Evidence from China

In the contemporary digital economy, economic development increasingly relies on the innovation and dissemination of knowledge. Academic entrepreneurship, as a direct channel for knowledge dissemination into the marketplace, is significantly influenced by digital technology. Consequently, how to improve academic entrepreneurial ability has become a hot research topic. This study is grounded in the theory of reciprocal determinism within the context of the digital economy. We use the "2019 China Digital Economy Development Index White Paper" and collect data from 1843 survey questionnaires in China to conduct empirical research with a ridge regression model. It primarily focuses on the following individual factors and social environmental factors on academic entrepreneurial ability of teachers (AEAT): digital economy (DE), organizational support (OS), policy environment (PE), and personal learning growth (PLG). First, the findings show that the DE, OS, PE, and PLG have a significant positive impact on improving AEAT. Second, the results also indicate that social environmental factors relative to personal factors will have a greater impact. Finally, this study not only presents the first attempt to establish a connection between DE and AEAT but also holds significant managerial implications for enhancing AEAT within the context of the DE. Despite the increasing body of literature on academic entrepreneurship, the research domain pertaining specifically to AEAT remains fragmented and lacks comprehensive theoretical development. There is a pressing need for more systematic and thorough investigations to unveil the black box of factors influencing AEAT in the context of the DE.

The association of socio-demographic characteristics of university students and the levels of their digital entrepreneurial competences

The aim of this article is to provide empirical evidence on the level of digital entrepreneurial competences (DEC) that higher education students acquire during their higher education and to investigate the relationship between their socio-demographic characteristics and the level of DEC. The first competence area (Identification of opportunities) of the DEC EmDigital competence framework was assessed together with its three sub-competence areas (Search for and analysis of information, Creativity and innovation, and Prospecting), and the relationship between the level of DEC and various socio-demographic characteristics of higher education students was investigated using logistic regression. The results show a relatively low DEC level of the participating students for the first EmDigital competence area. Location, field of study, level of study and employment status were found to be statistically significant for the acquisition of DEC, while the variables age and gender had little impact. The results of this study are a step towards the development of an DEC online assessment tool (using the Digital Competence Wheel as a role model) that universities and other stakeholders could use to assess the level of DEC their students acquire during university education. This research is the first study to assess the acquisition of DEC during university studies and the impact of different socio-demographic characteristics of students on their level of DEC.