The impact that exposure to digital fabrication technology has on student entrepreneurial intentions

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role exposure to digital fabrication technology plays in the development of students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and intentions. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 131 students enrolled in a business administration undergraduate program at a large Midwestern university in the USA. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings Results provide evidence on how exposure to and hands-on experience with digital manufacturing technology in universities can have a positive impact on students’ ESE and intentions to become entrepreneurs. Practical implications Results support initiatives by business schools and entrepreneurship programs to invest in digital manufacturing technology as they help increase students’ confidence in their technological and entrepreneurial abilities. Originality/value This is the first study that directly looks at the role that exposure to digital technology in a business and entrepreneurship education program has on students’ ESE and intentions.

Digital transformation shaping structural pillars for academic entrepreneurship: A framework proposal and research agenda

“…Pillar 4 resulted from various articles (Luckman, 2008 ; Mancha & Shankaranarayanan, 2020 ; Monllor & Soto-Simeone, 2019 ; Wallin & Fuglsang, 2017 ) showing how individuals with digital perception can break with institutional agreements (Wallin & Fuglsang, 2017 ). Indeed, digital literacy (Luckman, 2008 ) together with exposure to digital technology, can develop business self-efficacy in individuals (Monllor & Soto-Simeone, 2019 ), as well as developing entrepreneurial intention (Mancha & Shankaranarayanan, 2020 ), allowing the conclusion that Individual Characteristics are one of the pillars supporting R2.…”

“…In this context, digital academic entrepreneurs develop and regenerate themselves through a virtuous cycle setting out from the individual, accessing the network which includes other institutions and a wider ecosystem (Toniolo et al, 2020a , 2020b ). Therefore, it is necessary to study the individual characteristics of the digital academic entrepreneur, namely: entrepreneurial orientation, digital literacy, business self-efficacy and self-efficacy of digital technology (Mancha & Shankaranarayanan, 2020 ) and self-efficacy (Mancha & Shankaranarayanan, 2020 ; Monllor & Soto-Simeone, 2019 ).…”

“…Future research should: (i) test the role of experimental learning in a simulated environment in universities, changing individual characteristics with the aim of raising the level of digital innovation (Mancha & Shankaranarayanan, 2020 ); (ii) analyse the impact of teaching in an academic environment (Mancha & Shankaranarayanan, 2020 ); (iii) explore how digital academic entrepreneurship emerges and evolves in different contexts (Toniolo et al, 2020a , 2020b ); (iv) accompany how students with entrepreneurial intentions really become entrepreneurs (Monllor & Soto-Simeone, 2019 ); (v) study the socio-material relation of digital entrepreneurship (Schiavone et al, 2019 ), and (vi) show how new undertakings in the area of health are created (Wallin & Fuglsang, 2017 ).…”

“…Digital Products Rippa and Secundo ( 2019 ) Intersection of academic entrepreneurship with digital technology Show the social and economic benefits of using DT, in creating new products Schiavone et al ( 2019 ) Explore how entrepreneurs using DT create and commercialize new products Relate the socio-material nature of DT and the entrepreneurship of digital users Ho and Lee ( 2015 ) How technological innovations are interlinked with changing market needs and adaptive strategies Analyse how DT impacts on organisational strategies and the development of new products in HEIs Ivanović-đukić et al ( 2019 ) Show the effect of different types of digital entrepreneurship on economic growth Show the factors that influence the development of digital innovative organisations Digital Technology and Socio-Cultural Modifications 4. Individual Characteristics Monllor and Soto-Simeone ( 2019 ) Investigate how exposure to digital technology can develop digital business self-efficacy and the entrepreneurial intention Relate DT exposure to the perception of digital self-efficacy and the entrepreneurial intention Luckman ( 2008 ) Identify digital literacy, which can enable people to create products using DT How to enable more people to take advantage of the opportunities provided by DT Mancha and Shankaranarayanan ( 2020 ) Explore and understand the antecedents of digital innovation Test the role of experimental learning with DT in students’ entrepreneurial intention Wallin and Fuglsang ( 2017 ) Explore how new undertakings can break institutional agreements (i.e. regulations, normative rules and cultural-cognitive beliefs) Analyse how the actors of innovation negotiate alternatives and paths to the implementation of change Zaheer et al, 2019b Explore factors contributing to the success of digital education start-ups Test the factors shaping performance in innovative digital ed...…”

Editorial

“…Research area: the maker space movement for academic entrepreneurship This area identifies the role of the maker space movement for enhancing the academic entrepreneurship. Monllor and Soto-Simeone (2020), contributes to the discussion on the socalled "maker space movement" for academic entrepreneurship. This work investigates if and how exposure to digital fabrication technologies plays a role in the development of students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intentions.…”