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

Abstract

Entrepreneurs bring an enormous contribution to a country’s economic growth. Developing individual’s interest into new venture creation represents an important asset, especially for less developed countries where entrepreneurial activities are fundamental in enhancing economic growth. The recent economic crisis turned the attention of European policymakers towards entrepreneurship as a driving force for the creation of new job opportunities, regional/national competitiveness and growth. The aim of this article is to verify what relations are between locus of control, need for achievement and entrepreneurial intention of youth, following a cognitive approach and how much entrepreneurial education consolidates entrepreneurial skills and informs the young that entrepreneurship is a career option. To analyse entrepreneurial intentions, locus of control, need for achievement and entrepreneurial education in the context of Romania, this research used a quantitative design based on the answers to the questionnaire conducted during March 2017 to October 2017 on a sample of 270 students from two important Romanian universities. From the methodological point of view, several hypotheses have been developed and tested using multivariate logistic regression estimates, frequency analysis, internal consistency reliability of the constructs and moderating effects. The results illustrate that locus of control, need for achievement and entrepreneurial education proved to be important determinants for venture creation among young students, both independently and under the action of control variables. Also, respondents’ gender had a significant influence on one’s intention of opening a business in the future, with males being more inclined to become entrepreneurs than females.

Relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial goal intentions: psychological traits as mediators

“…Several studies have shown that successful entrepreneurs have an internal locus of control compared to ordinary people (Aboal & Veneri, 2016;Antoncic et al 2015;Brockhaus, 1982;Chaudary, 2017). Moreover, other studies authenticate the positive relationship between internal locus of control and entrepreneurship intentions (Dinis et al, 2013;Vodă & Nelu, 2019). The interpretation drawn from these findings is that a high internal locus of control allows entrepreneurs to withstand disappointments and setbacks, and thus persevere.…”

Enablers of Entrepreneurial Activity across the European Union—An Analysis Using GEM Individual Data

“…In the last years, many researchers have studied the importance of this phenomenon considering three main perspectives: the economic factors [3,8,10], the socio-cultural factors [5,11], and perception determinants [8,[12][13][14][15]]. Yet, several previous studies found some mixed results about the relationships between some perceptual variables and entrepreneurial activities.…”

Predicting Entrepreneurial Intentions and Pre-Start-Up Behaviour among Asnaf Millennials

“…Among Chinese engineering students, Fang and Chen [12] suggested that a subjective approach to entrepreneurship education can enrich entrepreneurial intentions. In Romania, a study conducted by Voda and Florea [13] reported that the locus of control, need for achievement, and entrepreneurial education are the key determinants for entrepreneurial intention among university students. A study by Paunescu, Popescu, and Duennweber [14] reported that the feasibility, social stability, income, education, and working status affect entrepreneurial intention among Romanians.…”