For decades, entrepreneurship has become a major concern to both scholars and policymakers because of its significant role in economic and social transformation. This paper modeled the direct effects of entrepreneurial skill, environmental factors and entrepreneurial orientation on entrepreneurial intention as well as the indirect (moderating) effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship of entrepreneurial skill and environmental factors with entrepreneurial intention. Quantitative research design was employed using students' sample. It was found that entrepreneurial skill, environmental factors and entrepreneurial orientation have a positive influence on entrepreneurial intention. It was also discovered that entrepreneurial orientation moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial skill and entrepreneurial intention. However, the moderation effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between environmental factors and entrepreneurial intention was not established in this study, thus, called for exploring this moderating effect in other contexts. As implication to policy, the government should ensure not only enriching students with entrepreneurial skill and conducive entrepreneurial environment but also well-built entrepreneurial orientation among Nigeria teeming youths as it has a direct effect as well as strong interaction with other factors in explaining entrepreneurial intention.

Purpose This study aims to explore the relationships between strategic improvisation, organizational culture and higher education institutions (HEIs) performance. The dynamic nature of today’s environment, increased population and demand and budget cuts have created a lot of pressure on HEIs around the world. Hence, the need for effective human resource capable of providing advanced policies for efficiency and sustainability of these institutions. Design/methodology/approach A total of 229 questionnaires were filled and returned by academic leaders from HEIs in Kano state, Nigeria. The study used partial least squares path modelling to test the hypotheses postulated. Findings The major findings indicate that both strategic improvisation and organizational culture dimensions have direct relationship with HEIs performance. However, only innovative culture moderates the relationship between strategic improvisation and HEIs, while bureaucratic culture and supportive culture fail to support the proposed hypothesis. Research limitations/implications More studies are needed to further validate the impact of strategic improvisation (SI) on other public sector performance. Also, future studies should use longitudinal approach to establish at which stage SI has more impact on performance. Also, future studies should identify the difference that exists between units, department and faculty leaders, as some are more likely to engage in SI due to the nature of their specialization. Practical implications It is obvious that HEIs performance is not only limited to organizational factors but also individual characteristics such as ability to improvise. Hence, HEIs should consider SI ability during employment to ensure efficiency, performance and sustainability. Moreover, organizational culture of HEIs needs to be updated and to be more flexible in accommodating new initiatives or failure to encourage display of such ability. Originality/value Previous studies especially in the for profit sector have demonstrated the role of SI and organizational culture on performance. Thus, the present study is one of the early studies in the non-profit sector, specifically the HEIs. Moreover, the inconsistent result of the previous findings necessitates the study to test the moderating effect of organizational culture.

The role of leaders toward the development of entrepreneurship has been fully acknowledged. However, Leaders' characteristics such as strategic improvisation and entrepreneurial selfefficacy were mainly examined in the private sector. Hence, it is imperative to extend empirical studies to public sector organizations. The present study, therefore, proposed and validated a model linking leaders' strategic improvisation and entrepreneurial self-efficacy to corporate entrepreneurship in Nigerian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Using a structured questionnaire, 220 responses were generated from large HEIs in Kano State, Nigeria. The data of the study was analyzed using SmartPLS 3.0 to ascertain both measurement and structural model validity of the model. The results showed that both leaders' strategic improvisation and entrepreneurial self-efficacy were significantly related to corporate entrepreneurship in HEIs. Implication and limitation of the study; and suggestions for future study are also provided.

A detailed literature review provided consistent justification for the effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) on entrepreneurial intention. Recently, the literature yielded similar relationship on the link between ESE to firm performance. Although there are a significant number of studies on this effect that was mostly conducted in the private sector, they mainly focused on the composite ESE construct. The present study replicated and validated these findings with data from the public sector, specifically, higher education institutions (HEIs). Moreover, the study focused on the individual effect of all dimensions of ESE identified by Chen, Greene, and Crick (1998). Using PLS-SEM and non-probability sampling, the data were collected from 180 academic leaders from selected HEIs in Kano, Nigeria. The findings indicated that three dimensions of ESE (financial control ESE, innovation ESE, and risk taking ESE) were found to be significantly related to HEI performance, while two (management ESE and marketing ESE) were insignificantly related to HEI performance. The practical implication and suggestion for future study are also discussed. Keywords: Entrepreneurial self-efficacy, HEIs, Performance