This article investigates the effect of smart applications, AI, BI and IoT, on fostering entrepreneurship in Jordan's education sector, addressing a literature gap on how smart technologies shape entrepreneurial capacities in developing countries' academic institutions.
The study adopts a positivist, quantitative design using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). A structured questionnaire was distributed to 202 participants (faculty, postgraduate students, academic administrators) from public and private Jordanian universities. Constructs were adapted from validated scales; measurement validity was ensured via average variance extracted, CR, HTMT and VIF.
All three smart applications, AI (β = 0.429), BI (β = 0.261), IoT (β = 0.159), had significant positive effect on entrepreneurship, with AI most influential. The model explained 59.6% of variance (R2 = 0.596), indicating strong explanatory power.
This study is limited to Jordan and uses purposive sampling. Future studies should expand geographic scope, adopt longitudinal methods, and include emerging technologies like blockchain or AR/VR.
The findings provide insights for policymakers and education leaders to integrate smart technologies into curricula, infrastructure and strategy to enhance entrepreneurial competencies among students and faculty.
The use of smart applications in education can promote social development by bridging the skills gap and enhancing employment skills of young people in a developing country like Jordan.
This article is one of the first empirical studies to model and validate role of smart applications in driving entrepreneurship within education sector of a developing country, offering theoretical advancement and policy relevance.
