A study of entrepreneurial intention of university students

Abstract

Studying entrepreneurial intention has long been an important topic in the field of entrepreneurship. In this paper, we investigate entrepreneurial intention by applying the theory of planned behavior by Ajzen (1991. "The Theory of Planned Behavior." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50(2):179-211), which describes that intention of a behavior depends on attitude, social norm, and controlled behavior. In our context, intention to start a business is thus a function of the three determinants. We have also explored two additional contextual determinants: short-term risk taking preference and psychological well-being. We propose individuals with a short-term risk taking preference are likely to initiate a venture. Similarly, individuals who score high on psychological well-being are likely to start a business too. We have used the structural equation modeling technique to examine 275 survey responses from students of a large southern university in the U.S. Consistent with earlier research, we found that social norm, controlled behavior, and short-term risk taking preference are positively associated with entrepreneurial intention. However, to our surprise, attitude fails to generate a significant impact on entrepreneurial intention, which is also negatively associated with psychological well-being. Discussions of results are presented, and future research possibilities are suggested.