This paper explores the impact of entrepreneurial education among international students studying higher education in the UAE. The authors examine the role of entrepreneurial education as an independent variable and as a moderating variable in the relationship between external factors (measured by the economy, institutions and society) and internal factors (measured by entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurial capabilities and achievement) on entrepreneurial innovation. A survey approach was used in which predesigned questionnaires were distributed to the targeted respondents. We employed Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis to analyze the collected data. The result reveals that exposing international students to entrepreneurial education is crucial to their entrepreneurial innovation. We also found the external and internal environments to be crucial factors that predict entrepreneurial innovation among the sample surveyed. Further findings revealed that entrepreneurial education significantly moderates the relationship between the external environment and entrepreneurial innovation whereas the moderating effect of entrepreneurial education on the relationship between the internal environment and entrepreneurial innovation was found to be insignificant. The findings provide valuable insight for not just higher education institutions offering entrepreneurial education courses in the UAE. Nevertheless, for entrepreneurship stakeholders globally understanding how to enhance the significant role of entrepreneurial education on external and internal factors will ensure higher innovativeness among international students in the host country.

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This study aims to identify why firms, specifically SMEs in the hospitality and tourism industry, downsized during the recent global economic distress caused by COVID-19. This study applied a quantitative methodology by distributing online questionnaires to SME owners and managers who operate in the tourism industry of the UAE. We analysed the collected data using structural equation modelling. A total of 320 questionnaires were analysed using the PLS-SEM analytic tool. Our findings revealed that the investigated constructs, namely financial sustainability, SMEs’ innovativeness, and technology adoption predict the implementation of downsizing strategies during economic distress. However, financial sustainability failed to expedite SMEs’ innovativeness and technology adoption during this period. Therefore, the findings of this study show the impacts of financial strength, technology adoption, and innovativeness on implementing downsizing strategies, and provide suggested recommendations in light of the observed results.

This study in its capacity explore the significance of technology adoption among unregistered small or micro businesses in the informal economy. To achieve this objective, initial observations were carried out by researchers over a time period on unregistered business owners operating in an informal economy. The study adopts an interview data collection method. The findings reveal that initially, these business owners had no intention of adopting technology into their business model. However, they did. Given this, the adopted technology (simple mobile phones) gave them some unprecedented opportunities over others in terms of work flexibility and expanded customer networks via referral. Unintentionally, the interview findings also reveal that with the simple technology adopted by this informal and unregistered businesses, customers were able to make business transactions from their comfort zone and enhance their individual security consciousness.