Does School Cooperative Program Increase Entrepreneurial Intention? A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

Abstract

Purpose of the study: The primary purpose of this empirical research is to investigate the impact of school cooperative involvement on entrepreneurial intention among Malaysian secondary school students. The school cooperative program was introduced in Malaysia in 1968, and presently, 2421 school cooperatives are operating nationwide. Despite so, the impact of school cooperative towards students’ entrepreneurial intention remains unclear.
 Methodology: This research employed the quantitative method, using a cross-sectional survey. The data collected from secondary school students in the East Coast Peninsular of Malaysia involve three states, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang. The study employed the Covariance Based Structural Equation Modelling (CB SEM) to analyze the data using the Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) graphic.
 Principal finding: The result shows that the students’ involvement in the school cooperative increases their entrepreneurial intention.
 Applications of this study: The Malaysian government should focus on nurturing entrepreneurship in schools. The Ministry of Education (MOE) and Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia (ANGKASA) need to enforce assessments on participating students to ensure the effectiveness of this entrepreneurship education program. Moreover, school administrators should support the school cooperative owing to its positive impact on students.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: This research delivers the best way to increase entrepreneurial intention by measuring the impact of students’ involvement in school cooperatives. Also, the paper proposes a framework for enhancing entrepreneurial intention by clarifying the Theory of Students’ Involvement. Consequently, this research fills the previous research gap on entrepreneurial intention and lack of information on Malaysian school cooperatives.