Sports university education and entrepreneurial intentions

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how the nationality and the sport education system could affect the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of undergraduate sport science students in two different countries. Design/methodology/approach A total of 249 undergraduate sport sciences (SS) students from Spain and Lithuania were analysed. The EI questioner questionnaire by Liñán and Chen (2009) was used to compile the data during the 2016-2017 academic year. Findings There are significant differences between the sport science students of Spain and Lithuania. The Lithuanian students have significantly higher means in the variables of EI, perceived behaviour control and professional attraction. Moreover, the variables that predict EI are different, and certain path coefficients of the variables are also significantly different. Research limitations/implications The sample originates from one university in each country; therefore, these results may not be generalisable to the entire population. Practical implications The SS degrees in Lithuania and Spain should follow different educational policies with the objective of fostering EI and increasing the number of entrepreneurs. Social implications Creating adequate educational policies to foster entrepreneurship in sports across countries could improve the number of entrepreneurs in the sports sectors; thus, the youth unemployment rate will decrease. Originality/value There has been no previous research that analyses the EI of sport science students across contexts through the theory of planned behaviour. Moreover, there are no studies that compare the EI of university students between Spain (Western Europe) and Lithuania (Eastern Europe).

Predicting entrepreneurial intention across the university

“…However, research into EI has often been conducted in business schools using business students or undefined populations (Maresch et al, 2016) in one or multiple settings, in one academic discipline (e.g. González-Serrano et al, 2018) or by aggregating students from several academic disciplines into one sample (e.g. Koe, 2016).…”

Physical activity level as a booster of entrepreneurial intention: a social innovation approach

“…PA is characterised as a robust phenomenon with social, economic, cultural and educational fields (Naia et al 2017), besides one of the most diffused social activities in Europe (González-Serrano et al 2018). Furthermore, it turned out to be a social phenomenon with implications on performance, education and social intervention (González-Serrano et al 2018), mainly through practising sport.…”

“…Entrepreneurship is broadly recognized as a vehicle for national and regional development (Galvão et al 2017;Galvão et al 2019) since it increases economic efficiencies, produces innovation, jobs, growth over time (González-Serrano et al 2018), and national prosperity (Bell 2019). Thus, entrepreneurs boost competitiveness and wealth creation.…”

“…Consequently, entrepreneurship captured the interest of both scholar and policymakers (Alferaih 2017). Regarding policymakers, they find it the solution for social and economic problems (González-Serrano et al 2018).…”

“…Its results can be used by policymakers to promote PA not only to improving health care but also as a booster to entrepreneurial intentions, as to say to strengthen self-employment. Policies can support entrepreneurship in many ways, yet it is crucial to investigate which factors influence and shape individuals´intent to become an entrepreneur to be able to develop adequate programmes and policies (González-Serrano et al 2018). Higher education institutions have a crucial role in promoting PA programmes that can help booster entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship intention.…”