Perceptions to Start up Business as a Career Choice among Saudi Female Higher Education Students

Abstract

This study explored factors inspiring female university students in Saudi Arabia to choose entrepreneurship as their career choice. This explorative empirical study sought to explore this phenomenon in the context of a culture of socialization strongly attached to religion and steeped in tradition. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire survey administered to female university students. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to identify influencing factors. The results mostly support previous study findings on perceptions about the drivers of females' aspirations in venture creation. Entrepreneurship and business-related courses and media roles are recognized as the most influential factors explaining reasons for the choice of occupation and career. However, this study found only mixed support for these variables. Interestingly, this study found that social learning theory was negatively and significantly related to the decision of female university students to start up a business as a career choice, opposite to previous findings. The findings will assist relevant authorities in facilitating an increase in female entrepreneurship to contribute to the national Vision 2030.

Understanding the role of universities in fostering female entrepreneurship in the emerging ecosystem

“…However, the results also showed that the women’s families including their husbands are becoming more supportive toward women launching a business, which the researcher argued constitutes strong evidence of changes in Saudi society in relation to family values. Islam et al (2018) explored factors that encourage a public university’s female students to pursue entrepreneurship as a career choice in support of Vision 2030. Based on a sample comprising 550 female students, the results showed that entrepreneurship and business courses in addition to media influence are significant factors in determining women’s career decisions.…”

Fuelling the Start-ups: Nexus of Crowdfunding Awareness, Perceived Parental Influence, and Internet Familiarity on Start-up Intention

“…These authors have classified human capital into two parts: general human capital (knowledge) and specific human capital (skills). Further, human capital was reported positively associated with the entrepreneurial start-up intentions in which the previous business experience was an indicator (Islam et al, 2018). Kim et al (2006) emphasised that human capital is significantly associated with entrepreneurial entry rather than financial capital and cultural capital.…”

“…He grouped these variables as economic factors and social factors under the environmental factors. Environmental factors were positively associated with the interest of educated female students in starting up their own business in Saudi Arabia(Islam et al, 2018). The above-mentioned study investigated the university courses, social media and government assistance as the indicators of the environmental factors.…”

Internal and external barriers to entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia

“…Most research on Saudi Arabia is focused on female entrepreneurship (Islam et al, 2018), postmaterialistic values (Alammari et al, 2019), female entrepreneur environmental challenges (Alkhaled & Berglund, 2018), and factors that affect entrepreneurial success (Al-Tit et al, 2019). An exception is a recent study by Alamoudi and Bagaaifar (2017) that examines barriers to entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia in broad terms.…”