Entrepreneurship education intention and entrepreneurial intention amongst disadvantaged students: an empirical study

Abstract

Purpose Disadvantaged students face social exclusion and undergo a different treatment than mainstream students. This alters their entrepreneurial intention subsequently. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting disadvantaged students’ intention in their willingness to undergo entrepreneurship education as a vocational course. The variables include self-efficacy, need for achievement (nAch) and family background. The paper further examines whether entrepreneurship education intention enhances their entrepreneurial intention. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a deductive quantitative study as the chosen approach as it ensures complete anonymity and hence researcher bias is minimized. The sample consists of the third year, final year and postgraduate first year disadvantaged students from different streams of engineering, economics, arts and commerce. The study was conducted with a total of 319 students completing the questionnaire which used a five-point Likert scale. Findings Using the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the results show that willingness of disadvantaged students to study entrepreneurship as a vocational course is highly driven by their family background followed by self-efficacy and nAch. The results further strengthen the TPB and has implications for educators of entrepreneurship and a possibility of a widening of entrepreneurship education in disadvantaged community. Research limitations/implications The study measured attitudes and willingness with intentions, but not actual behavior as this was a cross-sectional study. Also, repeated observations could not be made and dynamics of change could not be captured. Originality/value This is one of the few studies focused on entrepreneurial intention of students who are socially excluded and therefore it offers a possibility of widening of entrepreneurship education in countries such as India which display a collectivist culture and provides an intention-based linkage to entrepreneurship education among disadvantaged students. This study also puts subjective norm as a strong predictor of intentions which previous studies have refuted. The findings also suggest that there is a strong intent to study entrepreneurship among disadvantaged students in India, which makes entrepreneurship education a seemingly acceptable choice of education and suggests promise for its wider reach and penetration.

The Impact of Entrepreneurship Perceptions on Entrepreneurial Intention During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Perceived self-efficacy is a measurement of individuals' abilities and skills that can indicate their beliefs and intentions on how they want to perform and achieve (Shrivastava and Acharya, 2020). Perceived self-efficacy has been adopted as a predictor to intentions and performance that enhance EI (Boyd and Vozikis, 1994;Chen et al, 1998).…”

“…Attitudes towards behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control can be adopted to predict intentions to perform behaviours (Ajzen, 1991). This theory has been applied in the studies of entrepreneurship, such as the effect of entrepreneurship education and EI (Shrivastava and Acharya, 2020). Furthermore, intention is a predictor of behaviour and action, such as a self-plan to become an entrepreneur or to start entrepreneurship activities in the future (Lent et al, 1994;Souitaris et al, 2007;Shrivastava and Acharya, 2020).…”

“…This theory has been applied in the studies of entrepreneurship, such as the effect of entrepreneurship education and EI (Shrivastava and Acharya, 2020). Furthermore, intention is a predictor of behaviour and action, such as a self-plan to become an entrepreneur or to start entrepreneurship activities in the future (Lent et al, 1994;Souitaris et al, 2007;Shrivastava and Acharya, 2020). Thus, TPB can be conducted to analyse intentions in an entrepreneurship setting.…”

“…Although, the perception of entrepreneurship education has been measured through various perspectives, still more research is required during this time of COVID-19 pandemic. The perception of entrepreneurship education has been explored through various factors, such as perceived self-efficacy, perceived desirability, desire for achievement and fear of failure (Farashah, 2013;Peterman and Kennedy, 2003;Shrivastava and Acharya, 2020). Even qualitative and quantitative methods are adopted in the exploration of factors (Blenker et al, 2014), studies on the perception of entrepreneurship education in the time of COVID-19 are inadequate.…”

The moderating effect of entrepreneurial motivation on the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and behaviour: An extension of the theory of planned behaviour on emerging economy

“…These earlier studies have shown that SN is a weak predictor of EI. However, the study suggests that in collectivistic cultures like India, students may be more susceptible to external influences, such as peer pressure, societal expectations, and guidance from relatives and teachers, when it comes to pursuing entrepreneurship (Shrivastava and Acharya, 2020). This is because Indian culture places a significant emphasis on family, friends, and society in shaping an individual's beliefs and behaviours (Marmat, 2021).…”