Determinants of student entrepreneurship

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyze this phenomenon and identify its determinants using data from Brazilian higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approach -Based on a data set comprehending 2,230 university students from 70 different institutions across the country, the authors develop five Probit models to assess impacts related to individual traits and systemic conditions on five dependent dimensions: entrepreneurial activity, potential entrepreneurs, high-impact entrepreneurship, serial entrepreneurship and innovation-driven entrepreneurship.Findings -The lack of significance in many of the variables included in estimations suggests that student entrepreneurship seems to be a rather random phenomenon in Brazil.Research limitations/implications -Findings pose challenges for student entrepreneurship, as targets for intervention are not clear.Originality/value -Over the past decades, universities have been receiving an increasing demand to go beyond their role of producing science and technology to explore its knowledge potential to produce novel commercial applications. However, while there is a growing interest in ways to foster scientific academic entrepreneurship, universities also serve as a positive environment for student entrepreneurship training, knowledge sharing, testing ideas and learning. So far, the importance of student entrepreneurship has received far less attention than it likely deserves.

University Start-Ups: The Relationship between Faculty Start-Ups and Student Start-Ups

“…First, this study did not consider individual attributes because of a lack of relevant data. Personal attributes such as age, gender, discipline, and family income play a fundamental role in the recognition of start-ups and numerous studies have explained the determinants of individual attributes in start-ups [6][7][8]. However, in this study, individual determinants were not considered and these limitations may lead to bias in the research results.…”

“…As a resource influencing student start-ups, university funding for start-ups was positive and significant, whereas government funding was not significant. It has previously been shown that providing start-up funding has a positive and significant effect on start-ups [6], most likely because such funding enables the creation of business plans, facilitates market research, and allows for the production of prototypes [63]. In addition, financial support from universities can play a critical role in the early stages of start-ups, as it can be difficult to secure external venture capital or attract an angel investor [64].…”

“…First, Alves et al [6] assessed 2230 students from 70 universities in Brazil on decision factors in start-ups. The analysis showed that a student's intention to start a business seemed not to be readily explicable in terms of any specific factors.…”

“…Given this context, assessing resources that affect start-ups is crucial. Studies on student start-up factors have specifically focused on personal and institutional resources [6]. Studies concerning personal factors have included students' age [7], gender [8], and family income [9], while studies concerning institutional resources have included facilities such as university resources and incubators, and science parks [10], as well as educational activities in relation to start-ups [11].…”

“…Whereas considerable research had been undertaken on faculty start-ups, student start-ups have received relatively little attention [20], due to a prioritization by decision-makers of faculty start-ups and a lack of data on student start-ups [21]. However, it is increasingly necessary to analyze the resources affecting student start-ups at a time when there are more student start-ups than faculty start-ups, and when student start-ups have also been shown to outperform faculty start-ups in terms of quality [6].…”