Contextual Motivations for Undergraduates’ Entrepreneurial Intentions in Emerging Asian Economies

Abstract

The development of theories to explain and predict the phenomena of entrepreneurship is essential to various stakeholders. Recent entrepreneurship literature has suggested that values motivate entrepreneurial intention, and entrepreneurship is contextual. This study examines contextual motivations of business undergraduates’ entrepreneurial intention across selected emerging Asian economies. The research methodology is quantitative. The measurement instrument consists of items from Portrait Values Questionnaire and Entrepreneurial Intent Scale to collect data from 378 matched business undergraduates from Malaysia, Indonesia and China. Structural equation modelling technique tested the hypotheses for overall sample, and measurement invariance was checked prior to multi-group analysis. The results suggest that the openness-to-change values shape Malaysian and Indonesian undergraduates’ entrepreneurial intentions, whereas achievement values shape Chinese undergraduates’ entrepreneurial intentions. The findings add to existing theory and evidence that argue for the importance of contextual motivations. It also enriches understanding of entrepreneurship in emerging Asian economies. Practical implications for entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship development programmes are discussed.

The role of professional experience in the entrepreneurial intention in higher education

“…This study considers a sample of 236 students attending an entrepreneurship course at a polytechnic institution in Portugal. This study addresses a relevant research gap in the literature since the vast majority of studies published in the field consider a homogeneous sample of students, which does not allow exploring this phenomenon (Hattab, 2014;Looi, 2020;Passaro et al, 2018). It is acknowledged, however, that some studies explore the role of students' prior work experience but not in a fully comprehensive way.…”

A bibliometric analysis of college students' entrepreneurial intention from 2000 to 2020: Research trends and hotspots

“…For Malaysian and Indonesian university students, the openness-to-change values have greater influence on their EI. For Chinese university students, achievement values are more important (Looi, 2020 ).…”

Entrepreneurial Activity and Economic Growth of BRICS Countries: Retrospect and Prospects

“…Scholars considered EI to an important variable in most studies. The latest literature on entrepreneurship has reported that values motivated EI, and entrepreneurship was contextual (Looi, 2020). However, higher entrepreneurial activity rates were having a positive correlation with economic growth and employment (Acs & Armington, 2004).…”