Academic entrepreneurship in Sudanese universities: explaining entrepreneurial intention using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

Abstract

This study aimed to fill the literature gap of entrepreneurial intention antecedents from the academic staff’s perspective using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in an underdeveloped country context. Empirical results were derived from a quantitative approach based on a survey method with a selected academic staff sample of 97 Sudanese public universities. Hypotheses testing was done using the structural equation modeling (SEM) through the partial least squares (PLS) method to test the impact of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived control as the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention. The study results revealed the applicability and consistency of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in explaining Sudan’s academic entrepreneurial intention. The results indicated that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived control explained 61.70% of the entrepreneurial intention (EI) variance. Perceived control (PC) proved to be the primary antecedent of EI, which explained 42.20% of EI variance, while the business environment and experience were the leading influencers of perceived control. This result can guide the authorities to formulate policies that encourage the transformation of the Sudanese universities to be entrepreneurial.