Bridging the Digital and Innovation Divide: A Mixed-Methods Study on Technology-Enhanced Learning for Entrepreneurial Education in Thailand

Abstract

Developing nations increasingly look to entrepreneurship as a catalyst for economic growth, yet fostering high-quality, innovation-driven ventures remains a formidable challenge. This study investigates the "entrepreneurial paradox" in Thailand—a nation with high rates of early-stage entrepreneurial activity but lagging innovation. It explores the potential of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) to bridge this gap by transforming entrepreneurial education. Employing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, this research first conducts a thematic analysis of interviews with university students and lecturers to uncover the contextual factors shaping TEL adoption. Subsequently, it develops and tests a theoretical model using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) on a sample of 458 university students. The quantitative model, an extension of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), examines the determinants of students' intention to use TEL for entrepreneurial learning and its subsequent impact on entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial intention, and innovation orientation. Qualitative findings reveal that while TEL offers unprecedented access to resources, its efficacy is constrained by infrastructural inconsistencies and a pedagogical gap. The quantitative results confirm the model's robustness, highlighting Performance Expectancy and Facilitating Conditions as the most significant predictors of behavioral intention and use. The integrated findings suggest that the digital divide acts as a fundamental barrier to the deep learning required to cultivate an innovation mindset. This study provides critical, evidence-based implications for socio-economic planning, advocating for a policy shift from merely providing technology to fostering digital equity and pedagogical innovation in emerging economies.