Conceptual Framework of Entrepreneurship Ecosystem based on Academic Curriculum: A Meta-Synthesis Approach

Today, change in universities and higher education centers is a necessity due to the ongoing changes in the nature students, society, as well as their needs and experiences. Therefore, universities and higher education centers should be aware of the changes in their environment. The purpose of this study was to design a framework of university-based entrepreneurial ecosystem. This qualitative research was conducted using the seven-level qualitative meta-synthesis of Sandelowski and Barros (2007). The meta-synthesis team consisted of three people including experts in the field of higher education who were proficient in the meta-synthesis method. The corpus of the study included 52 related research papers selected for the purpose of analysis, and by analyzing the data, the basic themes were extracted and placed in the 25 first level organizer themes. Next, the organizers of the first level in the 4 themes of the second level organizer include Stakeholders and actors, entrepreneurial curriculum, enablers, entrepreneurial university leadership. Finally, the framework of the university-based entrepreneurship ecosystem was formed. The presentation of this framework helps the trustees of the higher education field to use it to provide the requirements and grounds for the establishment of a university-based entrepreneurial ecosystem.