Student intentions to become self‐employed: the Ukrainian context

Abstract

Purpose -This paper aims to explore whether an integrated conceptual model (ICM) relating to factors drawn from entrepreneurial event theory (EET) (i.e. perceived desirability and perceived feasibility) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) (i.e. attitudes toward the behaviour, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control) explains more of the variance relating to the intention to become an entrepreneur than individual EET or TPB models. Design/methodology/approach -Survey information from 192 students from three universities in the Ukraine was hand collected. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses presented. Findings -Models relating to EET, the TPB and the ICM explained 40 per cent, 55 per cent and 60 per cent of the variance in the entrepreneurial intention dependent variable, respectively. Students reporting higher levels of perceived desirability, perceived feasibility, attitude toward the behaviour (i.e. enterprise) and perceived behavioural control were more likely to report the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. No significant negative interaction effect between perceived desirability and perceived feasibility was detected.Research limitations/implications -The study does not evaluate the benefits of enterprise modules. The results can be generalised to the Ukraine and comparable transition economy contexts. Practical implications -The formation of entrepreneurial intentions in more students could be increased if enterprise teaching seeks to nurture higher levels of attitude toward the behaviour (i.e. enterprise), and higher levels of perceived behavioural control. Originality/value -Structural equation modelling was used to test the predictive accuracy of EET, TPB and ICM perspectives. Direct and indirect effects between factors and the intention to become an entrepreneur were considered.

Predicting the Entrepreneurial Intentions of University Students: Applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour in Zambia, Africa

“…Based on empirical research, scholars in Spain [27] [29], Ukraine [30], USA and Turkey [31], China [28] as well as Malaysia [33] establish that the higher the perceived behavioural control in relation to new venture creation, the higher the level of the business start-up intention.…”

The Role of Theory of Planned Behavior on Entrepreneurial Intention of Greek Business Students

“…members of the family, close friends, and other important people, such as teachers, successful entrepreneurs, business consultants, etc.) about whether a person will choose to follow a career as an entrepreneur seems to affect the formation of entrepreneurial intention (Ajzen, 2001;Solesvik et al, 2012;Liñán and Chen, 2006). Perceived behavioral control relects the extent to which an individual controls beliefs about the activity being studied (Solesvik et al, 2012), i.e.…”

“…The interplay between the components of TPB and entrepreneurial intention has attracted a considerable amount of research (Kolvereid, 1996;Tkachev and Kolvereid, 1999;Solesvik et al, 2012;Souitaris et al, 2007) but the indings are yet inconclusive. A few researchers have found a direct and signiicant relationship between the three indicators of TPB and entrepreneurial intention (Kolvereid, 1996;Tkachev and Kolvereid, 1999;Souitaris et al, 2007).…”

“…More speciically, Solesvik et al (2012) surveyed third, fourth and ifth year students of economics and business administration studying in three universities in Ukraine. The sample also consisted of students who participated in entrepreneurship courses during their second year of studies.…”

Measuring attitudes in the self-employment intention model: methodological considerations

“…The theory of planned behavior incorporates three elements: an individual's attitude towards specific behavior (attitude), an individual's perception of expectations (opinions) of other persons towards the selected behavior (subjective norm) and an individual's personal beliefs about their own control over the planned behavior (perceived behavioral control). A high correlation between the TPB and intentions for self-employment was reported by Solesvik et al (2012) and Liñán and Chen (2009), who, by modelling structural equations, have shown that TPB explains 55% of the variance of intentions for self-employment. On a sample of 143 Norwegian students, Kolvereid (1996b) has demonstrated that attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control affect the intentions for self-employment, while demographic characteristics of the respondents (gender, self-employed parents, experience in self-employment) affect them only indirectly.…”