There is general agreement that attitudes towards the entrepreneur, entrepreneurial activity, and its social function are determinant factors for university students to decide an entrepreneurial career.This empirical study aims at assessing and comparing the attitudes of university students towards entrepreneurship and enterprise formation in Catalonia and Puerto Rico, using a sample of 837 and 435 students, respectively.Results reveal a positive entrepreneur's image. Both samples have a favorable perception of desirability of new venture creation, although the perception of feasibility is by far not so positive and only a small percentage has the firm intention to create a new company.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyse a European doctoral programme in entrepreneurship. The specific objectives are the following: to illustrate the process to design and launch the doctoral programme; to describe its main characteristics; and to explore the conditioning factors to its success. Design/methodology/approach -The methodology is based upon a systematic application of a longitudinal case-study approach. Multiple sources of evidence were gathered. These included interviews with key informants and documentary data. Additionally, a participant observation approach was adopted. Concerning the theoretical approach, the related literature in entrepreneurship education was reviewed. Findings -The analysis supports the notions that the launching of a doctoral programme is similar to the process of creating a new business. The results emphasise the importance of the founder's personality, the network ties among universities and the strategic vision in order to achieve success in an entrepreneurship doctoral programme.Research limitations/implications -The interpretation of findings represents the authors' perceptions about a single case study. In terms of theory building, as a future research line, a multi-case study approach would allow for the developmental history of several doctoral programmes to be studied and compared. Originality/value -This paper provides a very useful source of information for universities that are planning to offer a doctoral programme in entrepreneurship.

En este trabajo se analizan las actitudes hacia la creación de empresas de dos muestras de estudiantes universitarios de Catalunya y Puerto Rico, respectivamente. Se estudian las percepciones de deseabilidad, viabilidad e intencionalidad de crear empresas propias. El marco teórico de referencia utilizado es la Teoría Económica Institucional, dada su adecuación para el estudio de los factores que condicionan la actividad empresarial. Excepto diferencias poco relevantes, los resultados obtenidos en cuanto a las actitudes hacia la creación de empresas son muy similares para las dos muestras consideradas.

No abstract

No abstract