Factors affecting students’ entrepreneurial intentions: a systematic review (2005–2022) for future directions in theory and practice

Abstract

Entrepreneurship has been viewed as a critical contributor and an economic engine in a country for creating new jobs and it is crucial for graduates to alter their mindset to become self-employed. Thus, it is necessary to synthesize the factors that impact the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of students at tertiary level. The aim of this research is twofold; first to identify the factors which have been most studied in the literature and second, to determine which factors are less explored to measure the EI of students. This research adopts the systematic review approach to identify various studies conducted between 2005 to June 2022. The paper further adopted citation analysis and identified the 36 most impactful studies in this area of research. Next, the thematic analysis was conducted and seven main themes (factors) (cognitive, personality, environmental, social, educational, contextual and demographic) of EI determinants were identified. The analysis of the papers clearly demonstrated that the TPB model and cognitive factors dominate this area of research. Furthermore, over half of the studies are conducted in Asia, hence it is important to explore other regions such as Africa, America and Europe and other comparative studies between various regions. The study offers avenues for future research and practical implications of the study for the practitioners.

Predicting the Sustainability-Oriented Entrepreneurship Intentions of Business School Students: The Role of Individualistic Values

“…Given that sustainable entrepreneurship is the outcome of a person's rational evaluation of various behavioural possibilities, Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behaviour offers a workable framework for comprehending the factors driving such entrepreneurial behaviour and is widely used in entrepreneurship intentions research (Maheshwari et al 2022). The model suggests that volitional acts are a result of personal cognitive processes in which behaviour is determined by three important factors: attitude toward behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control.…”

Planned behaviour, gender, and attitudes towards entrepreneurship among business economics and electrical engineering students

“…When it comes to focusing on the business path, relevant recent papers can be classified into those dealing with entrepreneurship as a future career choice (Aldrich and Kim 2007;Burton et al 2016), life course and entrepreneurial motivation (Jayawarna et al 2013;Jayawarna et al 2014;Alam et al 2019), prediction of entrepreneurial orientation among students (Shen et al 2017;Laguía et al 2019;Zisser et al 2019;Wach et al 2021;Maheshwari et al 2022), and the life course of entrepreneurs (Davis and Shaver 2012;Zampetakis et al 2016;Jayawarna et al 2021;Zhao and Yang 2021).…”

“…The willingness to take risks embodied in the recognition of opportunities and limitations may be perceived differently by men and women (Cheraghi et al 2019); female students in Serbia with different entrepreneurial backgrounds are thinking about choosing entrepreneurship as their business path after graduating from university. A theoretical background for research hypotheses (Ajzen 1991;Elder 1994;Becker and Moen 1999) and empirical foundations (Lüthje and Franke 2003;van Gelderen et al 2008;Liñán and Fayolle 2015;Shen et al 2017;Shinnar et al 2018;Laguía et al 2019;Zisser et al 2019;Wach et al 2021;Maheshwari et al 2022) is taken from the literature quoted in the previous sections of this paper.…”

“…Figure 1. Research model of entrepreneurial prediction with moderated impact of gender (Burton et al 2016;Shen et al 2017;Barba-Sánchez and Atienza-Sahuquillo 2018;Laguía et al 2019;Matysiak and Mynarska 2020;Wach et al 2021;Maheshwari et al 2022). Based on these constructs, a research hypothesis may be derived.…”

“…This paper builds conceptually on life course theory by studying the initial anticipatory phase of life course (Elder 1994), which is limited to the 18-29 age group (Becker and Moen 1999). At the same time, the paper empirically focuses on the entrepreneurial orientation of students and the possible transition from graduation to the choice of the entrepreneurial career as an initial work path (Burton et al 2016;Shen et al 2017;Laguía et al 2019;Matysiak and Mynarska 2020;Wach et al 2021;Maheshwari et al 2022). This part of the paper is also conceptually developed around the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen 1991).…”