Does entrepreneurship education matter for product innovations? The mediating role of Indonesian students creativity

Abstract

The competition in the digital era industry is increasingly fierce, requiring product innovation power for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Education needs to facilitate the creativity of entrepreneurial students to optimize their potential. However, empirical studies backing students’ creativity in emerging nation is lacking, and Indonesia is no exception. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurship education and product innovation through students’ creativity as a mediator. This study involved a self-administered survey targeted at university students as respondents, and the data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. This research paper proposes four hypotheses, and statistical tests confirm that all hypotheses are accepted. The findings show that there is a positive and significant effect of entrepreneurship education on product innovation and creativity. This study also confirms the role of creativity in mediating entrepreneurship education and product innovation. This present study contributes to explaining the influence of entrepreneurship education on creativity and its impact on product innovation, implying that educational institutions need to create entrepreneurship education activities that can promote creativity and innovativeness.

Keywords

• SMEs education
• entrepreneurship education
• students creativity
• product innovation
• higher education
• May Cheng, Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong