Explaining Entrepreneurial Intentions by Means of the Theory of Planned Behavior - Research Paper Example

Marketing Research Report: Attitude of Students toward Entrepreneurship Students Name Institution Supervisors Name Date Completed Statement of Authorship Executive Summary For every country, entrepreneurship and establishment of small medium enterprises are the cornerstone of development of the country in by many means. This is the reason that entrepreneurship is today seen as carrying the most special importance in the country’s development. All over the world, the impact of entrepreneurship cannot be ignored and educating students on entrepreneurship become one of the most crucial factors that will help then foster a positive attitude towards the practice of entrepreneurship. For this reason, this research paper was geared towards establishing the attitudes of students towards entrepreneurship as they complete higher education. The research was important as it helped to understand the existing problem in higher learning institutions order to add to the existing knowledge on entrepreneurship among students of higher learning. In order to complete this, a research was conducted among business students so as to establish their attitudes and also assist in finding ways to make entrepreneurship education popular in schools. The main objectives of this research were to examine University students attitudes towards entrepreneurship by looking at their views on entrepreneurship, career option and their interest in having entrepreneurship training, determining the preference of professions among university students and whether either of the profession will make them better entrepreneurs and lastly the paper also investigated student’s perception with regards to their entrepreneurial intentions. This study wasbe conducted among management and business students from the university. The researcher administered a total of 1647 questionnaires with the hope to get a positive response of about 1500respondents. The research was administered with the aim of showing that majority of students in the university do have a positive attitude towards entrepreneurship, and that most of them would prefer to be self-employed after studies. Table of Contents Contents Completed Statement of Authorship 2 Executive Summary 3 1.0 Introduction 7 2.0 Research Objectives/Hypothesis 10 2.1 Hypothesis 11 3.0 Literature review 12 4.0 Methodology 14 4.1 Research Design 14 4.2 Data Collection 15 4.3 Sample and Sample Techniques 18 4.4 Statistical Analysis Techniques 18 5.0 Results and Findings 19 6.0 Correlation and regression analysis 36 6.1 Limitations of the study 38 7.0 Conclusion and recommendations 38 References 40 List of Appendices 42 Appendix I: Questionnaire 43 Appendix II: Consent Form 43 1.0 Introduction Entrepreneurship education is an important aspect in any career as it helps provide students with a great potential towards establishing new and small medium enterprises. There is always a growing opportunity for entrepreneurs and graduates to become well established entrepreneurs[Mar08]. However, this potential is always not exploited to the extent that it deserves. This calls for the need to conduct a proper marketing research in order to establish these attitudes and solution to such attitudes. The importance of this research was to investigate students attitudes towards entrepreneurship, the research also gathered their views on entrepreneurship as a career option and if students are really interested in pursuing and entrepreneurship training[Hre11]. Education in entrepreneurship has now become the main trend all over the world. This is seen to incorporate among policy makers, economists, academicians and students from almost all universities in the world. In fact, entrepreneurship is nowadays regarded as being one of the best strategies a country can use in order to realize economic development. Entrepreneurship has also been lauded for the positive growth of most of the countries’ economies, and is credited for sustaining the economies of many countries all over the globe[Shy13]. To add on the above, it has been argued by many experts that entrepreneurship and creation of small and medium enterprises has become the main arm of economic development all over the world[Mar08]. This means that entrepreneurship has established a very strong importance in work economies, as it is a key to development. The objectives of any country’s industrial development, growth, regional development and generation of employment will depend on the country’s entrepreneurial development. With this in mind, entrepreneurs all over the world have become the main source of the country’s industrial development, the fruits of this kind of development thus become even greater and provides for more employment opportunities to then unemployed youth who finish schooling[Zha01]. Entrepreneurship is also credited for increasing the youth per capita income, it has raised the standards of living for most families and households and more youth now have the ability to save money, increased government revenue is also realized do to taxation from Small medium enterprises bringing about a regional balanced development[Jua]. Entrepreneurial education has brought about positive impact due to the crucial factor that helps the youth to understand and foster an attitude toward entrepreneurship. The attitude formed and education with regard to entrepreneurship is important as it will be able to shape the youth inclination towards starting their business in the future. It is widely accepted that entrepreneurship also plays a very important role when it comes to contributing for the development of the country’s economy. For example, when one looks at some of the most industrially developed countries like the USA, Japan and Germany, one will realize that this is due to establishing and economy that is an effect of entrepreneurship, this means that for a country to accelerate its development, then it needs to use entrepreneurship as a tool[Ols14]. This is where the challenge begins, there is always a paradigm shift on entrepreneurship among students that is quickly needed to be addressed in order to provide opportunities for the youth to be motivated towards entrepreneurship and realize economic growth for the country, entrepreneurship for the development of any nation. It is thus very important that any academic intellectual is equipped with the knowledge and skills of entrepreneurship in order to contribute towards the national economy[Liñ09]. According to a report by Maritz & Donovan, (2013) there is a constant need for entrepreneurial activities in the modern competitive economy, there are also a growing number of studies that are taken in order to determine the importance of entrepreneurship in regional and national economic development and business culture among graduates[Ale13]. 2.0 Research Objectives/Hypothesis The general objective of this research was to find the students attitudes towards entrepreneurship education; however, the specific objectives were as follows: 1. To examine the University students attitudes towards entrepreneurship, this will also look at their views on entrepreneurship, career option and their interest in having entrepreneurship training. 2. This research will also work towards determining the preference of professions among university students and whether either of their will make them better entrepreneurs. 3. Lastly, the paper will investigate the student’s perception with regards to their entrepreneurial intentions. 2.1 Hypothesis Hypothesis #1: The overall level of personal satisfaction is strongly linked with interest in entrepreneurship. It is assumed that students gain entrepreneurship due to the fact that they anticipate to become their own bosses. It is also assumed that entrepreneurship is meant to assist students to become economically independent. Hypothesis #2: The level of attitude toward entrepreneurship education is strongly linked with the present education system. It is assumed that the current education system does not prepare students well for life after school. It is also assumed that business education in school does not have relevance in the real world after education. Hypothesis #3: Entrepreneurship education interest is strongly linked with education choices and family background. It is assumed that students interest in entrepreneurship education is strongly linked to family background as entrepreneurs. It is also assumed that career choices are strongly linked with the student’s need to pursue entrepreneurship. 3.0 Literature review According to Jackson (2008), education in entrepreneurship provides students with a great potential towards establishing new and small businesses. There is a very huge opportunity needed among development and business students in to becoming entrepreneurs, however, according to available research, this potential is seldom exploited to its fullest. According to the global trends, the private sector is reported to contribute at least 40% to the growing economies of many countries; this means that many policies from the government calls for the encouragement of the growth of private sector. However these actions can only be realized if there continues to be the development in economic sector due to entrepreneurship. With the current trend in population and economy, the issue of unemployment is very rampant and is inherent[Ale13]. This means that many students who graduate from the university will often face difficulties in their careers when they enter the labor market to look for work. Hreinsson and Geir, (2011) also discussed reasons why people would want to begin an enterprise after completing the university. According to the writers, there were four reasons, first of all, these people believe that their speciality can be developed in to an enterprise. Secondly, they would also like to take the chance in the open market opportunities, fourth, this is because these people already have a product that they have developed or a service that they believe is able to find a niche in the open market, lastly, people would want to venture in to entrepreneurship because they believe that this is the only way that they are able to start an enterprise and also due to the fact that other options appear to be limited to them. Also, Linan and Fransisco, (2009), from Australia found that there are several reasons that most enterprises found their way to the top. One of them being that entrepreneurs behind it are people who love the challenge of business, they are looking for personal growth, they find more freedom being business owners, they are affected by family friends, they do not like working for others and that they are following a long term family tradition. In comparing reasons for nascent and non-entrepreneurs start having such enterprises and make their career choices towards it, Olson and Dawn (2014), found that the main reason people decide to begin their own enterprise was to gain financial success, self-realization, roles, recognition, innovation and to gain financial and business independence. Shyla (2013) also investigated that the determinants of interest in entrepreneurship among university students in Singapore included gender, family experience in the same type of business and level of education. All of these were found as being very significant in gaining entrepreneurship interests. The writer also adds that factors that influence entrepreneurs to start own business were looked at in two areas. The first one which involved mostly individual factors discussed family, friends and the external environment. The other factor discussed individual factors, this included personal development needs and recognition of the individual environment. These are some of the most important variables with regard to entrepreneurship that influences student’s attitude towards entrepreneurship education[MSc]. 4.0 Methodology This chapter discusses the methodological procedures that were used in data collection and analysis. The discussion includes the research design, data collection, sample and sample process, and the statistical analysis techniques. 4.1 Research Design The researcher adopted survey research design. This is due to the fact that the research required that the researcher to get a deeper insight to what is happening with regard to entrepreneurial awareness and what the students at the university already knew[She08]. The research design was also appropriate since it is non-experimental and only dealt with variables in a normal setting. Jackson (2008), states that survey research can be used to study large and small populations by selecting and studying samples chosen from the populations to discover incidence, distribution and interrelations of sociological and psychological variables. The design is recommended for educational and social research. That is, most research problems, social and educational do not lend themselves to experimental enquiry. 4.2 Data Collection The researcher obtained a research permit to establish, a work plan, pre-test the instruments, sample the research unit, distribute the instruments and establish an efficient system of collecting the completed instruments.With regard to the nature of this research, data wasnot collected within a day, this is because the researcher waited until all the questionnaires had been administered and returned. The completed and returned questionnaires were checked coded and edited for accuracy, completeness and uniformity. Then the open-ended questions and close-ended questions were also organized in to different categories directly related to the following independent variables: Economic, Social, and Technological, factors affect the attitudes of students towards entrepreneurship. Then quantification in each of the category was done through the researcher assigning numerical values to the various categories so as to be able to facilitate statistical representation of data[NMC03]. Here the researcher developed two sets of questionnaire, one will for the students doing their final year at the university and the other one for the young entrepreneurs in the country of study who have benefited from entrepreneurship education. The questionnaire was administered to the sampled population in person by the researcher. The questionnaire items were developed to appropriately answer the research questions. The questionnaire was adopted because it is free from the bias of the interviewer and answers are in respondent's own words, respondents have adequate time to give well thought out answers and respondents who are not easily approachable can also be reached conveniently[Pat10]. Information can be collected from a large sample and diverse regions therefore saving time. Since they are presented on paper format, there is no opportunity for interviewer bias and confidentiality is up held. However the following weaknesses were encountered, first of all, depending on the speed of respondents, some of the responses were quite low, there were cases where the researcher had no direct contact at some instances, and this meant that the researcher could not deal with any misunderstanding that may arise. There was also no opportunity to ask for further information related to the answers given and therefore no clear reason could be given for incomplete responses in such cases[Vir13]. To ensure effectiveness of the questionnaires a pre-test was carried out. The questionnaire also included both closed and open-ended questions. The process of developing the questionnaires was be done through extensive consultations with the researcher’s supervisors, other researchers and extensive documentary study of related research works. Interviews In this project, the researcher also adopted interpersonal interview. The interview schedule items comprised of both closed and open ended questions which were tested on the attitudes of student towards entrepreneurship. But there were also shortcomings with the interview method. However, the major shortcoming was that the method is usually very expensive especially when large and widely spread geographical sample is taken, however the researcher tackled this by making prior arrangements through a workable work plan. 4.3 Sample and Sample Techniques According to Kerlinger (1973) 10-60% of the target population forms a representative sample. The researcher used stratified and simple random sampling technique that took between 10% and 30% of the total population in each sub-group or stratum. Stratified sampling was also important for this research as it enabled each group to be represented in the sample in the same proportion as they exist in the population. The Simple random sampling enabled each and every member of the population to have an equal an independent chance of being selected as respondents. Simple random is a method of sampling that involves, for example assigning a number to every subject or member of the accessible population, putting the numbers in a container and then picking any number at random. The subjects corresponding to the numbers picked are included in the sample. 4.4 Statistical Analysis Techniques The researcher adopted a descriptive analysis technique. This is the use of measures of central tendencies such as means, median and mode and measures of dispersion such as range, quartile deviation, standard deviation and variance to describe a group of subjects. That was then entered in to the SPSS data analysis program for interpretation. The analysis included: 1. The gender of the respondent. 2. Employment Status of the respondent 3. Reasons for creating a new company 4. Life experience and entrepreneurship. 5. Family influence and entrepreneurship. 6. How much they identify themselves with entrepreneurship 5.0 Results and Findings With regard to the questionnaire, data was collected, entered in to the SPSS data analysis where it was analyzed as per the following results. 5.1 Gender of respondents The first questions looked at the gender of respondents to this research. 649 of the respondents were male while 924 were female. 5.2 Age of Respondents The second question seeked to know the age category of respondent the following were the results. 5.3 What best describes your work situation. The third question wanted to investigate what best described the respondents work situation. The following was the result of the survey. Those who work for other organisations were as follows: Those who are self employed were as follows: Those who are unemployed were as follows: 5.4 What is your major? This questions in the survey investigated the kind of career major that respondents were pursuing in the university. The following were the results. 5.5 Career Intention This question in the survey wanted to determine the desire for respondents to choose the career they were in at the moment. The main reason for this investigation was to find out whether respondents loved what they were doing and the reasons behind it. The following was the results. Following this question, the survey also wanted to find out what it would mean for the respondent if he or she would be able to become an entrepreneur or create a new company. The respondents gave the following feedback. The next question seeked to know how several variables as indicated in the following chart were in the respondent’s life. These were the results. The other question under this category investigate from the respondents the amount of support the got from their family, colleagues and friends with regard to entrepreneurship. It was discovered that much support was derived from classmates. Perhaps due to the fact that they pursued the same career. The results were interpreted as follows: Also under this category, the researcher wanted to find out whether respondents were influenced with what friends, families and colleagues thought of them with regard to pursuing entrepreneurship. The following was the results which indicated that most of them were not really influenced by either to make a decision. It however seemed to matter a lot what their colleague said. The next part of this section was to find out the extent at which respondents would be able to complete a task as defined in the following graph. F1 Defining Business idea and strategies. F2 Write your business Plan I do a market research, financial analysis, etc) F3 Completing the necessary and administrative and bureaucratic work to create own business. F4 Develop and maintain favourable relationship with potential investors and banks. F5 Work productively under continuous stress, pressure and conflict. F6 See new market opportunities for new products/services. F7 Develop relationships with key people who are connected to capital sources. F8 Tolerate unexpected changes in business. F9 Identify potential sources of funding. F10 Design products or services that solve current problems. F11 Persist in the face of adversity. The graph interpretation was as follows: The last question in this section wanted to find out the extent to which respondents agreed or disagreed with: H1 Identifying oneself with entrepreneurs. H2 Being an entrepreneur is an important aspect of the respondent’s persona. H3 One feels that he or she has a strong bond with other entrepreneurs. H4 One feels a strong solidarity with other entrepreneurs. H5 One positively values being part of the entrepreneur’s group. The following was the results: The next question inquired from the respondents whether they felt that they would be able to creat their own company in future most of the respondents believed that they will create their own company in future. The research also wanted to know the type of career respondents would choose if given the chance. According to the results, most respondents chose self employement as a career. The researcher also asked respondents on the type of career that was most probable given that most of them lacked enough money to start up their own business. Results showed that most respondents preferred creating own employment. Lastly the researcher wanted to find out the probability of respondents creating their own business from present time to five years. The results indicated that most of the respondents did not think that they would be able to achieve this. 6.0 Correlation and regression analysis In this section, the researcher wanted to find out if there is any relationship between career choice and students interest in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneural education Career choice 1 2 4 5 3 8 4 12 8 14 9 19 8 22 Table above showing the relationship between education and career choice. From the above table, the relationship seems to be linear, meaning that there is a relationship between education and career choice. 6.1 Limitations of the study Much as it was the desire for the researcher to seek more information with regard to the research topic. There were several issues that limited the extent of the study. First of all, the budget allocated for the study did not allow the researcher to travel to several institutions. The researcher could not reach some students meaning that it was difficult to conduct face to face interview. Time factor also did not allow for the research to conduct more research. 7.0 Conclusion and recommendations This research was aimed at investigating student’s attitudes towards entrepreneurship. In conclusion, the results of the research indicate that most students have positive attitudes towards becoming entrepreneurs after they have finished their university education. It was evident that very few students learn with the aim of being employed in various institutions. With this regard, it is recommended that entrepreneurship education be taught from the beginning of any career choice. This should also include fundraising for entrepreneurs, since most of them faced the challenge of startup capital. It is also important that learning institutions work with authorities to support great business ideas with which students can be able to begin with even when still at school. Lastly it is recommended that entrepreneurship education be made mandatory for each career choice. References Mar08: , (Gelderen, Brand, Praag, Bodewes, Poutsma, & Gils, 2008), Hre11: , (Hreinsson & Geir, 2011), Shy13: , (Sangaran, 2013), Zha01: , (Zhang, 2001), Jua: , (Moriano, Gorgievski, Laguna, Stephan, & Kiumars Juan A. Moriano), Ols14: , (Olson & Dawn, 2014), Liñ09: , (Liñán & Francisco, 2009), Ale13: , (Maritz & Donovan, 2013), MSc: , (Scott & Twomey, 2010), She08: , (Jackson, 2008), NMC03: , (Carter, Gartner, Shaver, & Gatewood, 2003), Pat10: , (McNeill & Chapman, 2010), Vir13: , (Wilson, 2013), List of Appendices Appendix I: Questionnaire (attached) Appendix II: Consent Form (Attached) Read More