Industry Ties, Not Incubators, Drive Student Entrepreneurial Intent in Ethiopia

What makes a graduating student decide to launch a startup rather than search for a salaried job? A new study from Ethiopian universities suggests the answer lies less in any single program and more in the way an entire campus ecosystem works together, with the production of knowledge acting as the hidden engine that converts institutional support into entrepreneurial ambition. The research, published in the journal Discover Sustainability, offers one of the most detailed statistical portraits yet of how entrepreneurship ecosystems shape the intentions of students in a developing economy.

The study, conducted by Adissu Ketemaw, Shimelis Zewdie and Mekonnen Bogale of the Department of Management at Jimma University’s College of Business and Economics, set out to examine how universities contribute to knowledge production and to the building of an entrepreneurship ecosystem that fosters the entrepreneurial intentions of graduate students. Using a survey questionnaire, the researchers collected data from graduating students and analyzed it with both descriptive and inferential statistics. Their primary analytical tool was structural equation modeling, a technique that allows researchers to test complex networks of cause and effect simultaneously, while principal component analysis was used only for initial scale purification rather than as a confirmatory method.

The headline finding is that an integrated and supportive entrepreneurship ecosystem, mediated through what the authors call knowledge production practice, significantly shapes the entrepreneurial mindset of graduate students. In other words, the ecosystem does not simply push students toward entrepreneurship directly; part of its influence flows through the university’s capacity to generate, share and apply knowledge in ways that build students’ confidence and competence.

The statistical details reveal a clear hierarchy of influence. Industry collaboration emerged as the strongest predictor of students’ entrepreneurial intentions, with a standardized path coefficient of 0.566 and a p-value below .001, indicating an effect very unlikely to be due to chance. Entrepreneurial support programs came next, with a coefficient of 0.357, also highly significant. Entrepreneurial education followed with a coefficient of 0.254 and a p-value of .003. Incubation centers, often assumed to be the flagship of campus entrepreneurship, had a significant but comparatively weaker effect, with a coefficient of 0.225 and a p-value of .001.

That ranking carries a provocative message for university administrators and policymakers. Real-world exposure to companies, internships, networking events and partnerships with industry appears to matter more than dedicated physical infrastructure such as incubator facilities. The survey instrument itself hints at why: students were asked whether their institutions established partnerships with industry to facilitate real-world experiences, whether internship opportunities existed, and whether collaborations had fostered a culture of innovation and given them valuable experience that increased their confidence in pursuing entrepreneurship. Items like these suggest that the mechanism at work is experiential, students learning what business actually feels like, rather than merely acquiring office space or funding.

The mediating role of knowledge production practice is the study’s central theoretical contribution. The researchers measured this construct through items probing whether institutions provide resources and opportunities that facilitate knowledge generation, whether they encourage collaborative learning and idea sharing, whether teachers offer hands-on learning experiences and innovative techniques, and whether the institution’s overall research, development and innovation culture promotes entrepreneurship. The analysis showed that knowledge production practice significantly mediates the relationships between ecosystem components and entrepreneurial intention, with indirect effects ranging from a coefficient of 0.052 to 0.156, all statistically significant at p below .05.

Mediation analysis of this kind matters because it identifies the pathway through which an intervention works. If industry collaboration boosts entrepreneurial intention partly by enriching the knowledge students produce and internalize, then simply signing partnership agreements is not enough; the partnerships must be designed so that knowledge actually flows to students and transforms how they think and solve problems. Similarly, entrepreneurship education and support programs appear to work, at least in part, by building knowledge production capability, suggesting that curricula emphasizing critical thinking, problem-solving and real-world applications pay dividends beyond the classroom.

The survey’s measurement of entrepreneurial intention itself was deliberately broad, capturing whether students found an entrepreneurial career attractive, whether they felt confident in their ability to succeed, whether they were comfortable with the uncertainty associated with entrepreneurship, and whether they believed their family and colleagues would approve of their decision to start a business. This last dimension is notable in the Ethiopian context, where social expectations around employment can weigh heavily on graduates. The inclusion of perceived approval from family and colleagues acknowledges that entrepreneurial intention is not formed in a social vacuum.

The authors argue that their study advances the existing literature by developing an integrated framework linking the components of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, namely entrepreneurship education, training and support programs, incubation, and industry collaboration, with entrepreneurial intention through the mediating mechanism of knowledge production capability. Universities, they contend, play a transformative role by providing educational knowledge, experiential opportunities, institutional support and real-world exposure. The practical implication is that a holistic ecosystem linking education, support services, incubation and industry collaboration can empower students to transition from job seekers to job creators, fostering sustainable entrepreneurship in Ethiopia.

For a country with a rapidly growing graduate population and persistent pressure on formal employment, the findings arrive at a consequential moment. The study’s methodological rigor, including ethical approval from Jimma University’s Institutional Review Board, voluntary participation with written informed consent, and adherence to the Declaration of Helsinki, lends weight to its conclusions. Its open-access publication means that educators, policymakers and researchers across the Global South can examine the full framework and adapt it. The broader lesson may extend well beyond Ethiopia: wherever universities hope to cultivate the next generation of founders, the evidence suggests they should invest as heavily in the connective tissue between campus and industry, and in the knowledge that flows through it, as in the bricks and mortar of incubation.

Subject of Research: The effect of university entrepreneurship ecosystems on graduate students' entrepreneurial intention in Ethiopia, mediated by knowledge production practice

Article Title: Examining the effect of entrepreneurship ecosystem on entrepreneurial intention of graduating students a mediating role of knowledge production practice in case of Ethiopian Universities

Article References: Ketemaw, A., Zewdie, S., & Bogale, M. (2026). Examining the effect of entrepreneurship ecosystem on entrepreneurial intention of graduating students a mediating role of knowledge production practice in case of Ethiopian Universities. Discover Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04912-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04912-0

Keywords: entrepreneurship ecosystem, entrepreneurial intention, knowledge production, Ethiopian universities, graduate students, industry collaboration, incubation centers, structural equation modeling, entrepreneurship education, higher education, sustainable entrepreneurship, Jimma University