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Entrepreneurship perceptions and career intentions of international students

Entrepreneurship perceptions and career intentions of international students Purpose – This paper aims to identify the differences between African and European students with regard to their entrepreneurial intentions, attitudes towards entrepreneurship, role models and entrepreneurial experience. It also aims to set the scene for future comparative research between developing and developed countries in the area of graduate entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative empirical research design was applied, using self‐administered questionnaires. Questionnaires were distributed to first‐year business students at universities in three African countries that are either developing (Uganda and Kenya) or emerging (South Africa) and four European developed nations (Finland, Germany, Ireland, and Portugal). Findings – The results indicate that students from developing/emerging economies are more likely to envisage future careers as entrepreneurs and are more positive towards entrepreneurship than their industrialised European counterparts, even though motivators for employment/self‐employment are similar across the samples. The type of role models used and the extent of entrepreneurial experience varied between individual countries. Research limitations/implications – Limitations include the use of a convenience sample and its restriction on the use of statistics, a single data collection point and a sample across seven countries on two continents. Practical implications – The results lead to universal and country‐specific recommendations relating to the improvement of student‐oriented entrepreneurship activities within universities. Originality/value – The paper extends research on graduate entrepreneurship by providing an international comparison of entrepreneurship intentions, attitudes and experiences between developing/emerging and developed nations, leading to suggestions on how to foster an entrepreneurial spirit and assist new‐venture creations for students. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Education + Training Emerald Publishing

Entrepreneurship perceptions and career intentions of international students

Todd Davey; Carolin Plewa; Miemie Struwig
Education + Training , Volume 53 (5): 18 – Jun 28, 2011
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18 pages

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0040-0912
DOI
10.1108/00400911111147677
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to identify the differences between African and European students with regard to their entrepreneurial intentions, attitudes towards entrepreneurship, role models and entrepreneurial experience. It also aims to set the scene for future comparative research between developing and developed countries in the area of graduate entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative empirical research design was applied, using self‐administered questionnaires. Questionnaires were distributed to first‐year business students at universities in three African countries that are either developing (Uganda and Kenya) or emerging (South Africa) and four European developed nations (Finland, Germany, Ireland, and Portugal). Findings – The results indicate that students from developing/emerging economies are more likely to envisage future careers as entrepreneurs and are more positive towards entrepreneurship than their industrialised European counterparts, even though motivators for employment/self‐employment are similar across the samples. The type of role models used and the extent of entrepreneurial experience varied between individual countries. Research limitations/implications – Limitations include the use of a convenience sample and its restriction on the use of statistics, a single data collection point and a sample across seven countries on two continents. Practical implications – The results lead to universal and country‐specific recommendations relating to the improvement of student‐oriented entrepreneurship activities within universities. Originality/value – The paper extends research on graduate entrepreneurship by providing an international comparison of entrepreneurship intentions, attitudes and experiences between developing/emerging and developed nations, leading to suggestions on how to foster an entrepreneurial spirit and assist new‐venture creations for students.

Journal

Education + Training – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jun 28, 2011

Keywords: Entrepreneurship perceptions; Entrepreneurial career intentions; Entrepreneurial experience; Developing countries; Graduates; Entrepreneurialism; Role models

References

  • Attitudes, traits and actions: dispositional prediction of behaviour in social psychology
    Ajzen, I.
  • The theory of planned behaviour
    Ajzen, I.