Nexus between Family Environment and Entrepreneurial Intentions of Students in the Faculty of Management Sciences, Veritas University, Abuja

Abstract

There is a general apathy towards entrepreneurial activities among students in the Faculty of Management Sciences, Veritas University, Abuja. Unarguably, this lack of enthusiasm is traceable to the general moral decadence among youths in both the family environments and university environments. This is occasioned by the increasing failure of parents to properly bring up their children/wards particularly with the intent of making them self-reliant. Consequently, with a special focus on the family, it is important to understand the role of the family environment in triggering the dimensions of entrepreneurial intentions (i.e., personal attitude towards a behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control) in students. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design, and employed a combination of census method, a criterion sampling technique and questionnaire to collect data from 100 to 400 level students in the six departments in the faculty. A criterion sampling technique was employed to select the sample size of 115 students from the population of 279 students. The criteria for selection are that: (i) the parents work in or own a family business; (ii) that the student was partly or wholly involved in a family business; and (iii) the student actively participated in the previous entrepreneurship courses he/she had taken. The generated data were subjected to Pearson product moment correlation. The relationships between family environment, and personal attitude towards a behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control were found to be positive and significant. The study recommends empowerment of families to create new or expand existing family businesses. Again, family members, including students, should be involved in the running, management and control of such businesses from an early age.