Entrepreneurial intention of undergraduates in Nigeria: The role of subjective norm

Abstract

This study aims to measure the entrepreneurial intention of Nigerian undergraduates with interest in the predictive capacity of subjective norm. By using the theory of planned behavior, a self-developed questionnaire-based survey was employed. Three hundred and forty-two undergraduates participated in the study. They were selected from six universities across the three geo-political zones in the Northern part of Nigerian, using multi-stage stratified random sampling technique. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation along with Hierarchical Multiple Linear Regression have been used for data analysis purpose. The study finds that all the three antecedents of intention, as mentioned in the theory of planned behavior (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) are significant predictors of entrepreneurial intention. The important finding throws light that only about 20% of the variance could have been explained by the used model. Therefore, the study argues that other factors like entrepreneurship education, improved business scenario etc. may be the other possible factors of predicting the intention. Further, the results uniquely showed that subjective norm is the second most significant predictor in explaining the entrepreneurship intention of Nigerian undergraduate after entrepreneurial attitude. This may be attributed to the collectivist culture of Northern Nigeria from where the samples have been collected. Practical implications of the study have been discussed.