INTENTION TOWARDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY BASED ON UNIVERSITY OF KELANIYA

Authors

  • H. A. K. N. S. Surangi Lecturer Dept of Commerce & Financial Mgt., University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka
  • S. Amarathunga Senior Lecturer Dept of Commerce & Financial Mgt., University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka
  • R. Gajanayake Lecturer Dept of Commerce & Financial Mgt., University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka

Abstract

A number of scholars have identified that entrepreneurship is the key variable, which links the socio cultural milieu with the rate of economic development. The experiences from developing countries all over the world favor the hypothesis that their economies can be developed through entrepreneurship. It is possible to influence young undergraduates’ intention toward entrepreneurship and thereafter there is a need to understand how to develop and nurture potential entrepreneurs during their university years. It has been generally observed that many students have an unfavorable perception of desirability of new venture creation and only a small percentage has the firm intention to create a new company. Therefore, researchers attempted to answer the research questions “Do students have lack of entrepreneurial intention and what factors affect the entrepreneurial intention” in this study. This study started with theory instead of facts. Consequently, the research process of this study was deductive rather than inductive. The primary data were collected by using the structured questionnaire and data were gathered by a sample of 120 undergraduates in the University of Kelaniya. Cluster sampling method was used to collect data. Both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as chi square test and multinomial logistic regression were applied through SPSS to test the validity of formulated propositions. The study concludes that university students have lack of intention to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Moreover, entrepreneurial attitudes, feasibility, social norms, environmental factors strongly affect to the entrepreneurial intention of university students while demographics factors are not significant. Developing positive attitudes and personal traits and skills necessary for an entrepreneur is a major task of educational institutions.

Key Words: Entrepreneurship, Intention, University Students

For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk

Published

2012-02-25

Issue

Vol. 8 (2011): Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Business Management – 2011

Section

Articles