The Roles of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Supporting Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Developing Countries: Evidence from Oman
Al Shukaili A. Mohd Kassim N. Al Alawi A. Al Kindi K.S.A. Khairnnas R. Al-Riyami S.
2025World Association for Sustainable Development
World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development
2025#21Issue 119 - 45 pp.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine whether innovation and entrepreneurship activities are being adopted by higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries and specifically in Oman. It aims to explore the entrepreneurial ecosystem at HEIs and understand the support and challenges facing those institutions in order to promote entrepreneurship, innovation, and to spillover of knowledge from universities’ campus to the market. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A combination of semi-structured and in-depth interviews was used to gather the data, and one-sample and independent-sample t-tests were used to analyse the data. The study’s results confirmed that all variables contributed to enhancing entrepreneurship and innovation activities in HEIs. FINDINGS: This study’s results confirmed that all variables contributed to enhancing entrepreneurship and innovation activities in HEIs. However, the findings reveal that HEIs failed to support some activities regarding access to finance, programmes and support activities, and policies and guidelines for promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in their education system. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The findings of this study can be used as a map plan for universities in developing countries to provide the necessary actions to support innovation and entrepreneurship activities. HEIs can utilise the findings of this research to collaborate with external parties to facilitate students’ commercialisation to the market. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study fills the knowledge gap by exploring the entrepreneurial ecosystem components in developing countries and enabling a better understanding of the challenges faced by innovation and entrepreneurial activities.
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem , Entrepreneurship , Higher Educational Institutions , Innovation , Oman
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
College of Economics, Management, and Information Systems Entrepreneurship Centre, University of Nizwa, Oman
KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Nizwa, Oman
Entrepreneurship Centre, University of Nizwa, Oman
Head of Studies Department Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, Oman
College of Economics
KIMEP University
University of Technology and Applied Sciences
Entrepreneurship Centre
Head of Studies Department Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026