Entrepreneurial intentions among students: towards a re‐focused research agenda

Abstract

Purpose -The paper addresses the need for a re-focused research agenda in relation to graduate entrepreneurship. An important theme for some years has been the effort to monitor attitudes and intentions of students towards starting-up their own businesses. It is timely, however, to raise some questions about both the impact of this research and likewise the general approach it has taken in understanding the phenomenon of graduate entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approach -The paper draws upon a large data set (over 8000 students) from one UK region. Specifically, it presents data from the 2007/2008 Entrepreneurial Intentions (EI) survey within the Yorkshire and Humberside region and reflects back over previous iterations of this research.Results -The paper identifies three key outcomes. Firstly, it establishes that across all years of the survey, a substantial minority of students consistently hold relatively strong start-up intentions. Secondly, the paper highlights that despite considerable effort to increase the numbers moving to start-up, little impact is discernible. Thirdly, the paper suggests that although the EI survey is useful as a stock taking exercise, it fails to address critical questions around the impact of higher education on entrepreneurship and the transition from entrepreneurial intent to the act of venture creation.Originality/ value -The paper provides an important positioning perspective on the relationship between higher education and graduate entrepreneurship. While highlighting the importance of the EI research, the paper establishes the need for a refocused research agenda; one that is conceptually robust and with a focus upon the student journey from higher education to graduate entrepreneur.

The Effect of an Entrepreneurial Training Programme on Entrepreneurial Traits and Intention of Secondary Students

“…There is some evidence that entrepreneurship education has a positive role to play in student entrepreneurial intention (Pittaway and Cope, 2007;Florin et al, 2007;Nabi et al, 2010). Henry et al (2003) conclude that entrepreneurship programmes can be effective and yield significant benefits for aspiring entrepreneurs.…”

“…Henry et al (2003) conclude that entrepreneurship programmes can be effective and yield significant benefits for aspiring entrepreneurs. However, the impact of university education on entrepreneurship has been questioned, especially with regard to impact on the transition from intentionality to entrepreneurial behaviour or impact on entrepreneurial success (Nabi et al, 2010).…”

Encouraging Female Entrepreneurship in Jordan: Environmental Factors, Obstacles and Challenges

“…Recent research (Nabi, Holden, & Walmsley, 2010;Sesen, 2013) have stated that the majority of research on entrepreneurial intentions are mostly modelled on Ajzen's (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour, Shapero's Model of Entrepreneurial Event (1982) or Luthje and Franke's model (2004). In addition to personal traits, factors in the micro and macro environment that can encourage or hinder entrepreneurship have also been investigated (Franco et al, 2010;Franke & Luthje, 2003).…”

Virtuelno preduzetništvo: Obrazovanje kao podrška preduzetničkoj spremnosti studenata

“…Pod preduzetničkim namerama se podrazumevaju namere u pokretanju poslovnog poduhvata u budućnosti. Različiti autori su ispitivali preduzetničke namere i njihovu vezu sa brojnim drugim faktorima: ◆ De Clercq et al (2013) su ispitivali efekat orijentacije ka učenju i strast prema radu na preduzetničke namere studenata; ◆ Dinis et al (2013) i Zampetakis et al (2011) su istraživali uticaj psiholoških karakteristika (kreativnost i emocionalna inteligencija) studenata; ◆ Farashah i Souitaris (2013) su ispitivali uticaj obrazovanja i treninga iz oblasti preduzetništva; ◆ Lee et al (2011) su pokazali uticaj radnog okruženja i zadovoljstva poslom na preduzetničke namere; ◆ Nabi et al (2010) i Zhang et al (2013) su istraživali uticaj visokog obrazovanja na preduzetničke namere. U ovom radu virtuelno preduzetništvo se predstavlja kao koncept akademskog predmeta čija je uloga da doprinese boljoj edukaciji studenata u Srbiji.…”

“…Takođe, ista mogućnost je i sa onima koji imaju poznanika preduzetnika (Beringer & Ireland, 2010, p. 40). ◆ Visoko obrazovanje: Prema Nabi et al (2010), visoko obrazovanje smanjuje verovatnoću za preduzetništvom. Što je pojedinac obrazovaniji i više specijalizovan za određenu profesiju, to postaje privlačniji drugim preduzećima i kompanijama.…”