Determinants of Innovation Culture amongst Higher Education Students

ABSTRACT

Globalisation has made many higher educational institutions reassess their educational contents and research activities in order to enhance innovation culture amongst students of higher education. Many universities now focus on research activities and research funding in raising their reputation and ranking which in turn will improve student intakes, external funding, and student marketability. This paper aims at developing a model of innovation culture which leads to desirable student innovative behaviours. Using a literature-derived questionnaire, data were collected from 1,008 undergraduate students from five public research universities in Malaysia. Findings from structural equation modelling analysis indicate that self-efficacy, effective communications, and climate for innovation are the determinants of innovation culture. While no differences were found for climate for innovation, the findings revealed that self-efficacy, effective communication, and innovation culture to have significant effect on innovative behaviour, indicating the importance of communication and self-belief in building innovation culture and moulding intended behaviour regardless of the situations or environmental conditions.