Effects of Entrepreneurial Characteristics and University Environment on Entrepreneurial Intention

Abstract

ResumoO estudo teve como objetivo investigar os efeitos das características empreendedoras e do ambiente universitário na intenção empreendedora do estudante universitário. Foi desenvolvido e validado um modelo que considera o ambiente universitário, a autoeficácia e assumir riscos como influenciadores diretos da intenção empreendedora, e as características empreendedoras como influenciadoras da autoeficácia. A metodologia empregada foi quantitativa e os dados foram analisados por meio de Modelos de Equações Estruturais com a técnica de Mínimos Quadrados Parciais (PLS-SEM). A amostra utilizada foi composta por 287 estudantes universitários do último ano dos cursos de graduação da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp). Os resultados indicam que a intenção empreendedora dos estudantes é influenciada pelo ambiente universitário, pela atitude em relação a assumir riscos e pela autoeficácia. A autoeficácia, por sua vez, é influenciada pelas características de planejador, liderança e inovador dos estudantes. A pesquisa colabora com reflexões complementares aos estudos sobre empreendedorismo, apresentando um modelo para avaliação das características empreendedoras dos estudantes e do contexto empreendedor das instituições de ensino, e comprovando que existe uma relação positiva entre o contexto e a educação empreendedora com a intenção empreendedora dos estudantes.Palavras-chave: intenção empreendedora; ambiente universitário; perfil empreendedor. AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the effects of entrepreneurial and university environment characteristics on the entrepreneurial intention of the undergraduate student. We developed a model that considers the university environment, self-efficacy, and risk-taking as direct influencers of entrepreneurial intention, and entrepreneurial characteristics as influencers of self-efficacy. We employed quantitative methodology and data were analyzed by Structural Equation Models using the Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) technique. The sample consisted of 287 students in the final year of undergraduate programs at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). The results indicate that the entrepreneurial intention of students is influenced by the university environment and the attitude toward risk-taking and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy, in turn, is influenced by student characteristics regarding planning, leadership, and innovation. The research corroborates with complementary reflections on entrepreneurship studies, showing a model for evaluation of entrepreneurial characteristics of students and of the entrepreneurial context in educational institutions, and proving that there is a positive relationship between the context, entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial intention of the students.

Determinants of student entrepreneurship

“…A striking result concerns the lack of relevance identified in the variable "University Support." This vector is not associated with any of the entrepreneurial propensity functions to which it is assigned, an outcome which contrasts with earlier findings obtained by Iizuka and Moraes (2014), Moraes et al (2018) and Rocha and Freitas (2014). This suggests a lack of coordination and establishment of correct initiatives aiming at fostering entrepreneurial behavior in the Brazilian academia.…”

“…Besides the simple implementation of entrepreneurship courses, favorable impacts are also related to the coordination of entrepreneurship programs and other mechanisms at the university level, such as business competitions and outreach activities (Boh et al, 2015). In this sense, the university environment can shape the conditions for student entrepreneurship to thrive through the promotion of events, workshops, junior companies and student organizations that cultivate entrepreneurial practices (Moraes et al, 2018).…”

“…Entrepreneurial intent can be defined as "state of mind that directs the attention and actions of an individual toward situations of selfemployment" (Fayolle and Gailly, 2015, p. 76). However, although the concept is widely used as a proxy for entrepreneurial behavior (Fayolle and Gailly, 2015;Liñán and Chen, 2009;Moraes et al, 2018), it is only the precursor of a complex process of entrepreneurial behavior (Kolvereid, 1996;Lee and Wong, 2004). In this sense, addressing these aspects is desirable as it offers the possibility of drawing a complete picture of the underlying dynamics of student entrepreneurship.…”

Impact of Personality Traits and Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business and Engineering Students

“…In order to verify the reliability of the multi-item scales of the questionnaire a Cronbach alpha-based internal consistency analysis was performed. For exploratory studies, values between 0.60 and 0.70 are considered acceptable [124][125][126]. The reliability of entrepreneurial intention construct was 0.909 (Cronbach's alpha).…”

Individual Absorptive Capacity and Entrepreneurial Intention in Successors of Rural Properties

“…In general, studies on this theme are based on Ajzen's (1985) theory of planned behavior (TPB), which advocates that the action of individuals results from desire, viability and propensity to act. As a subjective process, entrepreneurial intent continues to be the object of studies that seek to broaden the explanation of TPB and include other variables such as self-efficacy (Moraes, Iizuka, & Pedro, 2018). The association between entrepreneurial intent and individual absorptive capacity (IAC) has not been the subject of previous studies, although there is evidence that the IAC knowledge is associated with desired ends (Bolisani & Bratianu, 2018;Koerich, Cancellier, & Tezza, 2015;Hotho, Becker-Ritterspach, & Saka-Helmhout, 2012;Minbaeva, Pedersen, Björkman, & Fey, 2014).…”