THE IMPACT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION ON ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION: THE UAE CONTEXT

Entrepreneurial intention (EI) is a key construct in research on new ventures creation. However, neither a clear or consistent definition nor a uniform way to measure entrepreneurial intention has yet emerged. Furthermore, no unanimity was observed about antecedents of this concept. Furthermore, the relationship between entrepreneurial education (EE) programs and students' entrepreneurial intentions using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has not been so widely studied, although this line of research is gaining momentum. The aim of this research is to explore the impact of entrepreneurial education on Entrepreneurial intention in the UAE context using the Theory of Planned Behavior. 400 students constitute the sample. Results of Structural Equations Modeling show that EE does not affect entrepreneurial intention. Results show that the entrepreneurial intention is very low among students of the UAE. Entrepreneurial Education is not working well to generate high entrepreneurial intention in the UAE context. We can explain this phenomenon by the very remarkable lack of academic programs totally dedicated to entrepreneurship and by the comfortable economic and social level of the UAE citizens.