Flourishing entrepreneurship academic ecosystems: selection of teaching methods in a cultural context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52340/bal/2025.18.02.01Keywords:
entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial ecosystems, sociocultural barriers, psychological barriers, experiential learningAbstract
This paper examines the role of entrepreneurship education in the development of flourishing academic entrepreneurship ecosystems, with particular attention to the influence of sociocultural and psychological barriers. Building on the entrepreneurial ecosystem approach, the study conceptualizes universities as central actors that connect education, innovation, and regional development through formal and informal institutional mechanisms. The paper integrates insights from entrepreneurship education research, cultural theory, and entrepreneurial psychology to analyze how national cultural dimensions, as operationalized by Hofstede’s framework, shape students’ entrepreneurial intentions and behaviors. Using the case of Georgia as a contextual reference, the study identifies key sociocultural barriers, including high power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and collectivist tendencies, as well as psychological barriers such as fear of failure, low self-efficacy, lack of a culture of doing, and limited action orientation. The paper systematizes contemporary educational methods and corporate entrepreneurship instruments relevant for academic ecosystems and proposes a set of practical recommendations for universities aimed at overcoming these barriers. These recommendations address human, social, and financial capital, as well as the development of entrepreneurial spirit and culture. The findings contribute to the literature on academic entrepreneurship by demonstrating how culturally sensitive, action-oriented, and psychologically informed entrepreneurship education can enhance the effectiveness of university-based entrepreneurial ecosystems and support their integration into regional innovation systems.
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