Students’ perception of entrepreneurship and enterprise education in Oman

Abstract

Purpose – Universities and other higher educational institutions play an increasingly important role in providing entrepreneurship education, training, and technical assistance to existing and potential entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to investigate students’ perceptions of entrepreneurship and the role of universities in developing enterprise education in Oman, focusing on the case of Sohar University. Design/methodology/approach – The research used a questionnaire based survey to collect primary data. From the total population of 3,633 students registered across different faculties during the academic year 2012-2013, a sample size of 200 was drawn using convenience sampling and the proportional allocation method. Findings – The research outcomes revealed that the majority of the university students were optimistic and interested in starting their own business, but lacked knowledge about how to start a business. The students’ willingness to run a business and their sociable, go-getter attitude, confidence, and effective connections with established entrepreneurs were observed as enablers. Fear of failure and unwillingness to take risks were the major obstacles facing university students in treading an entrepreneurial path. Practical implications – Overall, the study indicated a need for enterprise education, at programme and course levels, to nurture entrepreneurship among students in Oman. Social implications – Currently, Omani society is affected by a high level of unemployment. The research outcomes will help policy makers in assessing the potential of enterprise education. The promotion of entrepreneurship among women will enable more women to work shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts in building Oman’s economy. In a region where even today large numbers of women would never remove the face veil in front of male non-family members, these developments are very significant. Originality/value – Very few studies have examined university students’ attitude to entrepreneurship and enterprise education in Oman. This study helps in bridging that gap.

Implication of attitude of graduate students in Oman towards entrepreneurship: an empirical study

“…This result is consistent with studies by Antonites and Wordsworth 2009;Kor et al (2007); Belwal et al (2015). Students' perception of the risks involved in the business environment in Oman should be improved to encourage them to start The government can also strengthen the role of business incubators, who provide great support to graduates in the form of start-up funding, location, networking opportunity, training and many other useful services (Kotler et al, 2008).…”

“…This is consistent with most of the studies that addressed personal experience (AmmaL and Mathi 2014;Koh 1995;Paramond 2004;Tan et al 1996;Tkachev and Kolvereid 1999). In Oman, students lack the knowledge of how to start a business, and are occupied with fear of failure, as revealed by Belwal et al (2015). This explains why despite the positive attitudes of students towards entrepreneurship, they are reluctant to undertake self-employment after graduation.…”

“…Belwal et al (2015) revealed that the majority of university students in Oman were optimistic and interested in starting their own business, but at the same time lacked knowledge about how to achieve this. Factors such as confidence and effective connections with established entrepreneurs were observed as enablers for starting a business.…”

“…The few studies that addressed entrepreneurship in the framework of SMEs, such as Christina et al 2014;Al Barwani et al (2014); Benchiba et al 2016, have concentrated on challenges facing entrepreneurs, such as cultural and social norms, financial support and regulation, while ignoring to foster the correct attitudes towards entrepreneurship as a career choice. Although other studies such as that of Ammal and Belwal et al 2015, have addressed student attitude and intention towards entrepreneurship, they have failed to come up with conclusions that can be generalized to the graduate population, due to the qualitative nature of the methodologies adopted.…”

Imperatives for improving entrepreneurial behavior among females in the UAE

“…Emirati females were less inclined to take risk (Zeffane, 2013) because of their fear of being unsuccessful (Itani et al, 2011). In another study, fear of failure and unwillingness to take risks were the major obstacles facing Omani females in taking an entrepreneurial route (Belwal et al, 2015). Despite the educational progression, Emirati women have generally been found to avoid career and entrepreneurship opportunities in science, technology, engineering and maths (Al Marzouqi and Forster, 2011).…”