Purpose – Facing the multiplication of entrepreneurship education programmes (EEP) and the increasing resources allocated, there is a need to develop a common framework to evaluate the design of those programmes. The purpose of this article is to propose such a framework, based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Design/methodology/approach – TPB is a relevant tool to model the development of entrepreneurial intention through pedagogical processes. The independent variables are the characteristics of the EEP and the dependent variables are the antecedents of entrepreneurial behaviour. To illustrate and test the relevance of the evaluation methodology, a pilot study is conducted. Findings – Data are consistent and reliable, considering the small scale of this experiment. The EEP assessed had a strong measurable impact on the entrepreneurial intention of the students, while it had a positive, but not very significant, impact on their perceived behavioural control. Research implications/limitations – This is a first step of an ambitious research programme aiming at producing theory-grounded knowledge. Reproduction of the experiment will allow researchers to test how specific characteristics of an EEP influence its impact and how the impact differs across several cohorts of students. Those comparisons will serve to improve a priori the design of EEP. Originality/value – The new methodology is built on a robust theoretical framework and based on validated measurement tools. Its originality is about a relative – longitudinal – measure of impact over time and a particular use of the theory of planned behaviour which is seen as an assessment framework.

Assessing the Impact of Entrepreneurship Education Programmes: A New Methodology

Purpose – This paper aims to describe and empirically test a comprehensive model on the entrepreneurial intentions of the university students in which some individual and environmental factors were included. Also, the strengths of individual and environmental factors’ influence are compared.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was completed by a random sample (n=356) of business administration, health sciences and law faculty students across two Turkish universities. Results were based on correlation and regression analysis.Findings – Results indicate that as individual factors locus of control and entrepreneurial self‐efficacy (ESE) and as environmental ones social network and access to capital have significant impacts on entrepreneurial intentions of students. However, the results showed that the university environment does not have any significant impact.Research limitations/implications – Self‐report bias and cross‐sectional data are possible limitations. Longitudinal studies in the fu...

Personality or environment? A comprehensive study on the entrepreneurial intentions of university students

Although entrepreneurial behavior is proposed as part of the solution to fragile labor markets, in particular in periods of economic and social change, policy makers are struggling to find the right levers to promote it. Despite the extant prior research on entrepreneurial behavior, little is known on the entrepreneurial behavior drivers for the individuals of working age with experience. Prior research explores the influence of entrepreneurial knowledge to study the drivers of experienced individuals evaluating whether or not to engage in an entrepreneurial behavior. This research introduces entrepreneurial knowledge to study the impact of prior experience on entrepreneurial intention. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this research work analyzes the relationship between entrepreneurial knowledge and entrepreneurial intention, and the mediating effects of the TPB perceptual variables: personal attitude (PA), social norm (SN), and perceived behavioral-control (PBC). A structural equation model (SEM) has been used to analyze the responses of a sample of 431 experienced individuals of working-age that completed a questionnaire based on Linan & Chen’s, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 593–618, (2009) Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire (EIQ). The results showed that entrepreneurial knowledge positively influences entrepreneurial intention and that this influence is mediated by the perceptual variables of the TPB model (PA, SN, PBC). These findings contribute to the understanding of the entrepreneurial intention for experienced individuals and consolidate the use of the TPB model to study individual entrepreneurial intention. The findings suggest that policy makers should pay more attention to individual entrepreneurial knowledge, and strengthen the attractiveness of an entrepreneurial career, if they are interested in fostering entrepreneurial behavior among individuals of working age with experience.

Evaluating the impact of prior experience in entrepreneurial intention

Entrepreneurs bring an enormous contribution to a country’s economic growth. Developing individual’s interest into new venture creation represents an important asset, especially for less developed countries where entrepreneurial activities are fundamental in enhancing economic growth. The recent economic crisis turned the attention of European policymakers towards entrepreneurship as a driving force for the creation of new job opportunities, regional/national competitiveness and growth. The aim of this article is to verify what relations are between locus of control, need for achievement and entrepreneurial intention of youth, following a cognitive approach and how much entrepreneurial education consolidates entrepreneurial skills and informs the young that entrepreneurship is a career option. To analyse entrepreneurial intentions, locus of control, need for achievement and entrepreneurial education in the context of Romania, this research used a quantitative design based on the answers to the questionnaire conducted during March 2017 to October 2017 on a sample of 270 students from two important Romanian universities. From the methodological point of view, several hypotheses have been developed and tested using multivariate logistic regression estimates, frequency analysis, internal consistency reliability of the constructs and moderating effects. The results illustrate that locus of control, need for achievement and entrepreneurial education proved to be important determinants for venture creation among young students, both independently and under the action of control variables. Also, respondents’ gender had a significant influence on one’s intention of opening a business in the future, with males being more inclined to become entrepreneurs than females.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/4/1192/pdf

Impact of Personality Traits and Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business and Engineering Students

Purpose




This paper aims to develop an empirical model that examines whether a student’s proactive personality or the university support environment (education support, concept development support and business development support) affects their entrepreneurial intentions. Additionally, the relative strengths of a student’s proactive personality and the university environment influences are compared.




Design/methodology/approach




A total of 141 students attending a well-established and internationally renowned Malaysian higher education institution completed a questionnaire survey. Results were based on correlation and regression analysis.




Findings




Results indicate that a proactive personality and concept development support have significant impact on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Additionally, the results showed that a student’s proactive personality had a greater effect on their entrepreneurial intentions than that of the university support environment.




Originality/value




The paper demonstrates one of the few attempts to examine the effects of both a proactive personality and university support environment on entrepreneurial intentions in an emerging economy context. Specifically, we reconfirm students’ personality traits as a more important predictor of their entrepreneurial intentions than environmental factors in the Malaysian context. Additionally, by also demonstrating concept development support as a significant predictor of entrepreneurial intentions, we provide new insights into how universities in emerging economies can foster the entrepreneurial intentions of their students. This result adds to the academic literature on entrepreneurial intentions in emerging economies.

Entrepreneurial intentions of university students in an emerging economy: The influence of university support and proactive personality on students’ entrepreneurial intention

This study advances the thesis that knowledge gained from a formal entrepreneurship education program will have positive effects on an individual's overall entrepreneurial intentions through the mediating influences of attitudes and social norms favouring entrepreneurial behaviour. In this proposed conceptual framework, it is argued that the knowledge gained by students attending an entrepreneurship course will have a positive impact on the students' intentions of starting a business. Guided by the theory of planned behaviour, this study proposes a research design which involves tracking of the changes in the students' perceptions of the desirability of, self-efficacy in engaging in, and social norms supportive of, entrepreneurship and their consequent influences on the student's entrepreneurial intentions prior to the start and upon completion of an entrepreneurship course.

/pdf/entrepreneurial-knowledge-and-its-effects-on-entrepreneurial-4kaff4f36d.pdf

Roweena Mae de Jesus

Papers

Entrepreneurial Knowledge and its Effects on Entrepreneurial Intentions: Development of a Conceptual Framework