Entrepreneurial Tool and its Explication in the Development of University-based Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Evidence from Malaysia

Abstract: The researchers employed a Constructivist grounded theory approach to demystify the essence of Entrepreneurial tool in the development of University-based entrepreneurial ecosystem (U-BEE) in Malaysian universities. In order to provide a substantive propositional scaffold for future researchers, this study qualitatively explored the intrinsic role of technological tools in explicating the complexities surrounding the development of substantive University-based entrepreneurial ecosystem in context. Methodologically, interview and observational data were garnered in 3 stages, identifying 56 initial categories and 13 macro-themes. The credence of this research was validated plausibly following the dicta of the originator of the Constructivist grounded theory and by members’ check. The researchers elucidated in detail respondents’ perceptions of entrepreneurial tools in relation to the complexities surrounding UBEE development, and a grounded 2-component model of the paradigmatic composite composition of the respondents’ perception empirically emerged in-situ, including entrepreneurial tool and entrepreneurial adaptation. The emergence of these dimensions explicates the intricate mesh mechanisms enveloping the development of UBEE in the ambience of the research. The research implications in relation to future theoretical development are dutifully discussed.