The purpose of this paper is to test the ability of Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior and Shapero's model of the entrepreneurial event to predict entrepreneurial intent (EI) among Swedish university students. A conceptual framework was developed where attitude towards entrepreneurial behavior was constituted by perceived self-efficacy, perceived social norms, and independence and serves as a mediator for the EI.A comparison between three focus groups composed of non-business students, business students and participants from the 'Enterprising & Business Development' (EBD) program at Linnaeus University was undertaken. The results show all three studied variables are significant determinants of EI, which in turn is a precursor of the attitude toward entrepreneurial behaviour. However, evidence suggests a negative relationship between the perceived social norms and the EI among EBD and business students.This paper contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by testing how certain factors affect the EI of university students. Its originality arises from combining the two most significant models for EI and applying them to three groups with different prerequisites. Although the study is subject to some limitations, they can be overcome by further studies.

Entrepreneurs are seen to play a vital role in the growth of an economy, particularly in an emerging market such as South Africa. To date, there has been a limited amount of research concerning the drivers, influences and factors that predispose an individual towards entrepreneurial intent within the South African context. Equally so, there is little research on generational theory and how this relates to entrepreneurial activity as a whole. This study focuses on comparing the X and Y generational cohorts in terms of their propensity towards entrepreneurial intent within the context of South Africa. Research was conducted following an in depth literature review which focused on the concept of entrepreneurship and its effect on the economy, generational theory and the interaction and influence of generational cohort theory on the drivers of entrepreneurial intent. The data gathered through the course of the literature review was utilised as a theoretical foundation on which to build propositions of entrepreneurial intent and from which a quantitative survey instrument was developed. The quantitative survey was open to any South African individual who falls within the X or Y generational cohort as defined in this study.Key findings include similarities and differences between the X and Y generational cohort individuals in terms of the following aspects: education and entrepreneurial training; exposure to technology; problem solving; leadership orientation; visionary perspective; the influence of family and organisational support networks; creativity and innovation, attitude towards risk-taking and self-confidence. It is hoped that the findings contribute to the existing literature on entrepreneurial intent and in particular to that within the South African context of the X and Y generational cohorts. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Vocational psychologists have theorized that the congruence between self and occupations is the key to find fulfilling careers for individuals (Vondracek & Porfeli, 2011). However, the typical use of vocational interests to capture information about the self has been limited because it does not disentangle identity and work preferences in people’s responses in vocational assessments. People cannot be fully informed of careers most fitting to them if the vocational assessment does not capture distinct information about their identity. In this study, we strive to disentangle identity from preferences by including affective identity, which is sentiments that people hold towards themselves, as a predictor for career intent. Focusing on the context of entrepreneurship as a career, we examine how the congruence of affective identity and affective ratings of entrepreneurs provide additional information in predicting entrepreneurial intent beyond work preferences congruence. We invited undergraduate students from a Canadian University to complete an online-survey for an extra credit in their psychology course. We examined the impact of different congruence form of intent by including linear and polynomial terms of self and entrepreneur ratings when conducting a hierarchical linear regression. In general, we found support for the validity of our developed measure and demonstrated that contemporary congruence forms based on factors of affective identity brings new information in career choice perception. Affective identity accounts for unique predictability of self perception beyond vocational preference, which suggests the potential use of affective identity for career search feedback.

Vocational psychologists have theorized that the congruence between self and occupations is the key to find fulfilling careers for individuals (Vondracek & Porfeli, 2011). However, the typical use of vocational interests to capture information about the self has been limited because it does not disentangle identity and work preferences in people’s responses in vocational assessments. People cannot be fully informed of careers most fitting to them if the vocational assessment does not capture distinct information about their identity. In this study, we strive to disentangle identity from preferences by including affective identity, which is sentiments that people hold towards themselves, as a predictor for career intent. Focusing on the context of entrepreneurship as a career, we examine how the congruence of affective identity and affective ratings of entrepreneurs provide additional information in predicting entrepreneurial intent beyond work preferences congruence. We invited undergraduate students from a Canadian University to complete an online-survey for an extra credit in their psychology course. We examined the impact of different congruence form of intent by including linear and polynomial terms of self and entrepreneur ratings when conducting a hierarchical linear regression. In general, we found support for the validity of our developed measure and demonstrated that contemporary congruence forms based on factors of affective identity brings new information in career choice perception. Affective identity accounts for unique predictability of self perception beyond vocational preference, which suggests the potential use of affective identity for career search feedback.

The empirical evidence is rather weak and sometimes inconsistent as to what predicts an individual's decision to start a business. Among many possible causes, this study attempts to disentangle the effects of individual differences and context. I propose to use a framework involving an individual's entrepreneurial intent, entrepreneurial orientation and four individual difference factors as a means to isolate individual difference determinants of entrepreneurial intent. These are captured in new construct called entrepreneurial orientation. Samples of entrepreneurs and college students from the United States and China were used to test the relationships. The empirical results show that entrepreneurial orientation is positively related to individual differences factors and entrepreneurial intent. Even more, it fully or partially mediates the relationships between the individual differences and entrepreneurial intent. Among the four individual differences listed, opportunity recognition seems to be the best predictor of an individual's entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial intent. Future research should further examine opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial orientation. It appears that attempting to isolate effects of individual differences from context can be a viable strategy for studying determinants of new venture creation. / Ph. D.

This study examined the importance of the Big-Five personality traits and work values for the prediction of entrepreneurial intent. Data were collected from a sample of 261 undergraduate students at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Results of a hierarchical regression analysis revealed that none of the Big-Five personality factors predicted entrepreneurial intent; however, the importance individuals attached to achievement and social-affective work values accounted for 9% of the variance in entrepreneurial intent, above and beyond personality. The results lend support to the argument that entrepreneurship is a cultural phenomenon and that entrepreneurs are ‘made’ as opposed to ‘born’. Consequently, the implications of culture and gender characterization are discussed in relation to entrepreneurial intentions. Finally, a dynamic model of entrepreneurial emergence is proposed and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This study explores whether final year university students possess entrepreneurial intention and which factors determine such a career choice. A quantitative study of 228 fourth year undergraduate students from the University of Botswana was undertaken to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial self-efficacy and whether this is influenced by internal and environmental factors. This study offers empirical proof that entrepreneurial interests lead to entrepreneurial intent when students posses entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Students with a creative cognitive style show strong entrepreneurial intent irrespective of the level of self-concept. It is suggested that environmental factors do not have a significant influence on the decision to pursue self-employment. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The primary aim of the investigation was to explore the entrepreneurship intent (EI) of South African TVET students by applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Additional factors (demographics, community valuation, prior exposure to entrepreneurship and COVID-19 perceptions) were included as control variables within the model to assess the utility of the TPB. Student participants (N = 128) completed an online survey administered through two institutions in the Western Cape and made available by a Facebook link. The application of the TPB model scales was strongly supported by the results of the exploratory factor analyses (EFA) conducted as well as reliability analyses. Regression analyses indicated that the Theory of Planned Behaviour explained approximately 80% of the variance in entrepreneurial intention (p < .001). However, only attitudes were a significant determinant of entrepreneurial intention, whereas subjective norms and perceived behavioural control were not significant determinants of EI. Moreover, the control variables (demographic factors, community valuation, prior exposure to entrepreneurship) did not explain significant variance in EI, with the exception of COVID-19 perception, which was a significant determinant (β = .259, t = 3.159, p < .05). Hayes (2018) PROCESS macro was thereby used to investigate the moderation effect of COVID-19 perceptions, which were found to significantly moderate the relationship between perceived behavioural control and entrepreneurial intention. The contributions of the investigation are discussed and recommendations for future research are presented.

Magister Commercii - MCom (Business and Finance) / The youth of South Africa is currently faced with high levels of unemployment and poverty. This raises concerns about the future of the South African people and its economy. Consequently, much is needed to develop the youth to allow for a prosperous future. A decrease in poverty and unemployment was found to be linked to an increase in education. Entrepreneurial education can have a significant impact on entrepreneurial success. This research paper aims to assess the influence of entrepreneurial education and training on students' entrepreneurial development. To ensure a comprehensive assessment of the development of students, I utilised a mixed methodology to assess students both quantitatively and qualitatively. The study assessed a sample of students from South Africa and the United States of America who jointly partook in a two-week entrepreneurial education and training programme at TSiBA Education, Cape Town, South Africa. Entrepreneurial education and training had a positive effect on the students' entrepreneurial development, entrepreneurial orientation and intentions to start a business. While entrepreneurial orientation aids the exploitation of business opportunities, before opportunities can be exploited they must be recognised. Bringing into question the link between students' entrepreneurial orientation and their abilities to recognise and develop opportunities into successful ventures. To explore this I interviewed two participants and found the high entrepreneurially orientated participant to exhibit greater opportunity recognition and development abilities, compared to the low entrepreneurially orientated participant. I concluded by finding that although differences do exist between high and low entrepreneurially orientated students, entrepreneurial education and training could positively influence students' entrepreneurial orientation and assist in the development of entrepreneurs. The results suggest that TSiBA Education should attempt to increase the duration of the entrepreneurial programme to maximize the influence of the entrepreneurial education and training.

Le champ de recherche en entrepreneuriat est aujourd’hui très répandu mais dans le contexte du Vietnam, il reste encore un domaine de recherche à explorer. Parmi les paradigmes de l’entrepreneuriat, l’approche processuelle, se trouve au coeur de plusieurs recherches récentes. Cette thèse s’intéresse à l’intention qui constitue la première étape du processus entrepreneurial. Elle est consacrée à l’étude des impacts du système éducatif universitaire sur l’intention entrepreneuriale des étudiants vietnamiens. Elle tente de déterminer le rôle de l’« environnement universitaire » dans la formation de l’intention entrepreneuriale chez les étudiants. Le travail est interdisciplinaire entre les sciences de gestion et les sciences de l’information et de la communication. Il consiste à décrire un modèle de facteurs constitutifs de l’environnement universitaire et mesure l’influence de ces facteurs sur l’intention entrepreneuriale. Cette recherche s’appuie sur le modèle d’intention entrepreneuriale de Davidsson (1995) repris par Autio et al. (1997) et la théorie du comportement d’Ajzen (1991). La thèse est effectuée en mobilisant un pluralisme méthodologique combinant approche quantitative par questionnaire et qualitative par entretiens approfondis. Les donnés quantitatives recueillies l’ont été à travers deux enquêtes par questionnaires auprès de 781 étudiants (questionnaire 1) et 220 étudiants (questionnaire 2). Afin de valider les hypothèses de recherche, des tests statistiques ont été conduits : l’indépendant simple T-test, l’analyse de variance Anova ou la régression multiple. Quinze entretiens approfondis auprès de jeunes entrepreneurs qui sont passés par la vie universitaire ont pour but de clarifier le rôle de l’environnement universitaire ainsi que le rôle de la méthodologie pédagogique dans la formation de l’intention entrepreneuriale au sein des établissements universitaires. Le travail de terrain s’est déroulé sur plusieurs mois, auprès de 9 universités vietnamiennes situées au Nord (Hanoï) et du Sud (Ho Chi Minh Ville) du Vietnam. Les résultats de recherche montrent que l’environnement universitaire, dont la méthodologie pédagogique représente un facteur majeur, influence positivement l’intention entrepreneuriale des étudiants vietnamiens. Le rôle de la pédagogie active dans l’enseignement de l’entrepreneuriat est à nouveau confirmé. Les stages en entreprise sont préconisés dans la formation à l’entrepreneuriat. En se basant sur les entretiens approfondis, cette étude ouvre des perspectives nouvelles. Citons notamment le rôle du facteur réseau ainsi que la communication engageante. / The entrepreneurial field is a popular subject in the world, but it is a new and attracting research inVietnam where the private economic part has been more appreciated since 1986 (the most important point that marked the renovation of socio-economic system in Vietnam). In the entrepreneurial paradigms, the processing approach that attracts many attentions of recent researchers is followed by this study. With considering the entrepreneurship as the process, this thesis concentrates in the primary of business process (called the creation of enterprise). It studies the influences of university system on the entrepreneurial intention of Vietnamese students, especially the role of university environment in creating the students’ business intention. The most valued aim of this thesis is to describe the factors of university environment and to measure the influences of these factors on entrepreneurial ideas. It is evident that this research is typical combination between management science and information and communication science.This study bases on the entrepreneurial intention paradigm of Davisson (1995) that practiced by Autio etal (1997) and the behavioural theory of Ajzen (1991). The subject is studied by the combination between qualitative and quantitative methods. The two survey questionnaires were conducted with about 1000 completed questionnaires to collect the data for the research. The statistical tests were done such as the independent simple T-test, the analysis of variance ANOVA, the multiple regressions in order to confirm the hypotheses of research. Moreover, the fifteen of deep interview with young entrepreneurs who grow up from university system supplements the deeper understanding about the role of teaching method and university environment in creating entrepreneurial intention. The study is based on six months of fieldwork at nine universities in both the North and the South of Vietnam. The results show that the studying environment and teaching method are two key factors which have high positive influence on entrepreneurial intention of Vietnamese students. They also acknowledge the role of active pedagogic and the close relationship between the literature and the practice by the encouragement to be on probation in enterprises. This research also opens up the new prospect including the role of definition “réseau et communication engageante”.