IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/erjour/v5y2015i1p22n2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Study of Entrepreneurial Intention of University Students

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang Pingying
  • Owen Crystal L.

    (Department of Management, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USA)

  • Wang Dongyuan D.

    (Department of Psychology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USA)

Abstract

Studying entrepreneurial intention has long been an important topic in the field of entrepreneurship. In this paper, we investigate entrepreneurial intention by applying the theory of planned behavior by Ajzen (1991. “The Theory of Planned Behavior.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50(2):179–211), which describes that intention of a behavior depends on attitude, social norm, and controlled behavior. In our context, intention to start a business is thus a function of the three determinants. We have also explored two additional contextual determinants: short-term risk taking preference and psychological well-being. We propose individuals with a short-term risk taking preference are likely to initiate a venture. Similarly, individuals who score high on psychological well-being are likely to start a business too. We have used the structural equation modeling technique to examine 275 survey responses from students of a large southern university in the U.S. Consistent with earlier research, we found that social norm, controlled behavior, and short-term risk taking preference are positively associated with entrepreneurial intention. However, to our surprise, attitude fails to generate a significant impact on entrepreneurial intention, which is also negatively associated with psychological well-being. Discussions of results are presented, and future research possibilities are suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang Pingying & Owen Crystal L. & Wang Dongyuan D., 2015. "A Study of Entrepreneurial Intention of University Students," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-22, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:erjour:v:5:y:2015:i:1:p:22:n:2
    DOI: 10.1515/erj-2014-0004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2014-0004
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/erj-2014-0004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    2. Palich, Leslie E. & Ray Bagby, D., 1995. "Using cognitive theory to explain entrepreneurial risk-taking: Challenging conventional wisdom," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 10(6), pages 425-438, November.
    3. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Norman R. Smith & John B. Miner, 1983. "Type of entrepreneur, type of firm, and managerial motivation: Implications for organizational life cycle theory," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(4), pages 325-340, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francoise Contreras & Inge de Dreu & Juan C. Espinosa, 2017. "Examining the Relationship between Psychological Capital and Entrepreneurial Intention: An Exploratory Study," Asian Social Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(3), pages 1-80, March.
    2. Mesfin Mulu Ayalew & Shumet Amare Zeleke, 2018. "Modeling the impact of entrepreneurial attitude on self-employment intention among engineering students in Ethiopia," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Md. Abdul Momen & Shamsul Huq Bin Shahriar & Md. Kamrul Hassan & Seyama Sultana, 2020. "Determinants of Using Social Networking Sites Toward Entrepreneurial Success: Experience from a Developing Nation," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 6(2), pages 191-200, November.
    4. Lizette Huezo-Ponce & Virginia Fernández-Pérez & Lázaro Rodríguez-Ariza, 2021. "Emotional competencies and entrepreneurship: modeling universities," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 1497-1519, September.
    5. Sasmita Swain & Sri Krishna Sudheer Patoju, 2022. "Factors Influencing to Choose Social Entrepreneurship as a Career: A Study on Social Entrepreneurship Students from India," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 31(1), pages 65-89, March.
    6. Aleksey I. Shinkevich & Alsu A. Lubnina & Alexey G. Koryakov & Vladimir G. Mikhailov & Ekaterina L. Vodolazhskaya, 2016. "Economic Aspects of Risk Management of Stakeholders Activities," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 6(2), pages 328-332.
    7. Cuong Nguyen, 2018. "Demographic factors, family background and prior self-employment on entrepreneurial intention - Vietnamese business students are different: why?," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 8(1), pages 1-17, December.
    8. Berto Usman & Yennita, 2019. "Understanding the entrepreneurial intention among international students in Turkey," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.
    9. Tarek Ben Ali, 2017. "University and Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Investigation in the Tunisian Context," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 7(1), pages 76-84.
    10. Nabil Al-Qadasi & Gongyi Zhang & Ibrahim Al-Jubari, 2021. "Attitude of youth towards self-employment: Evidence from university students in Yemen," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(9), pages 1-20, September.
    11. Cuong Nguyen, 2017. "Entrepreneurial intention of international business students in Viet Nam: a survey of the country joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-13, December.
    12. Dave Valliere, 2019. "Refining national culture and entrepreneurship: the role of subcultural variation," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-22, December.
    13. Brizeida Raquel Hernández-Sánchez & José Carlos Sánchez-García & Alexander Ward Mayens, 2019. "Impact of Entrepreneurial Education Programs on Total Entrepreneurial Activity: The Case of Spain," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, March.
    14. repec:grm:ecoyun:202018 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Blendi Shima & Babu George, 2020. "Understanding Entrepreneurial Intentions of Albanian Business Students Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour," International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning, International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia, vol. 9(2), pages 153-167.
    16. Palamida, Eftychia & Papagiannidis, Savvas & Xanthopoulou, Despoina, 2018. "Linking young individuals' capital to investment intentions: Comparing two cultural backgrounds," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 392-407.
    17. Sandra Misiak-Kwit & Yunhua Zhang, 2022. "Entrepreneurial attitude of students - comparative study between China and Poland," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 9(3), pages 118-133, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. T. K. Das & Bing-Sheng Teng, 1998. "Time and Entrepreneurial Risk Behavior," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 22(2), pages 69-88, January.
    2. Dan K. Hsu & Johan Wiklund & Richard D. Cotton, 2017. "Success, Failure, and Entrepreneurial Reentry: An Experimental Assessment of the Veracity of Self–Efficacy and Prospect Theory," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(1), pages 19-47, January.
    3. Mateja Drnovšek & Sanda Franiæ & Alenka Slavec, 2018. "Exploring antecedents of business angels’ intention to invest," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 36(2), pages 701-734.
    4. Fayolle, Alain & Liñán, Francisco, 2014. "The future of research on entrepreneurial intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 663-666.
    5. Zellweger, Thomas & Sieger, Philipp & Halter, Frank, 2011. "Should I stay or should I go? Career choice intentions of students with family business background," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 521-536, September.
    6. Fox, Stephen & Groesser, Stefan N., 2016. "Reframing the relevance of research to practice," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 457-465.
    7. Christopher M. Weible & Tanya Heikkila, 2017. "Policy Conflict Framework," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 50(1), pages 23-40, March.
    8. Patrick Krieger & Carsten Lausberg, 2021. "Entscheidungen, Entscheidungsfindung und Entscheidungsunterstützung in der Immobilienwirtschaft: Eine systematische Literaturübersicht [Decisions, decision-making and decisions support systems in r," Zeitschrift für Immobilienökonomie (German Journal of Real Estate Research), Springer;Gesellschaft für Immobilienwirtschaftliche Forschung e. V., vol. 7(1), pages 1-33, April.
    9. Andranik Tumasjan & Isabell Welpe & Matthias Spörrle, 2013. "Easy Now, Desirable Later: The Moderating Role of Temporal Distance in Opportunity Evaluation and Exploitation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(4), pages 859-888, July.
    10. Jaeyeob Jeong & Myeonggil Choi, 2017. "The Expected Job Satisfaction Affecting Entrepreneurial Intention as Career Choice in the Cultural and Artistic Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Dave Valliere, 2019. "Refining national culture and entrepreneurship: the role of subcultural variation," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-22, December.
    12. Petschnig, Martin & Heidenreich, Sven & Spieth, Patrick, 2014. "Innovative alternatives take action – Investigating determinants of alternative fuel vehicle adoption," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 68-83.
    13. Maria Claudia Angel Ferrero & Véronique Bessière, 2016. "From Lab to Venture: Cognitive Factors Influencing Researchers' Decision to Start a Venture," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 24(02), pages 101-131, June.
    14. van Wee, Bert & Witlox, Frank, 2021. "COVID-19 and its long-term effects on activity participation and travel behaviour: A multiperspective view," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    15. Sandri, Serena & Schade, Christian & Mußhoff, Oliver & Odening, Martin, 2010. "Holding on for too long? An experimental study on inertia in entrepreneurs' and non-entrepreneurs' disinvestment choices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 30-44, October.
    16. Daniel V. Holland & Dean A. Shepherd, 2013. "Deciding to Persist: Adversity, Values, and Entrepreneurs’ Decision Policies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(2), pages 331-358, March.
    17. Gian Seloni & Sri Kusrohmaniah & Galang Lufityanto, 2023. "The perils of acting rashly: Risk-taking propensity impeding emotion-based learning in entrepreneurs [Les dangers de l’audace: La propension à prendre des risques entrave l’apprentissage basé sur l," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 89-110, March.
    18. Helena Hansson & Carl Johan Lagerkvist, 2014. "Decision Making for Animal Health and Welfare: Integrating Risk‐Benefit Analysis with Prospect Theory," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(6), pages 1149-1159, June.
    19. Michel Borgh & Jeroen Schepers, 2018. "Are conservative approaches to new product selling a blessing in disguise?," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(5), pages 857-878, September.
    20. Caliendo, Marco & Fossen, Frank & Kritikos, Alexander, 2010. "The impact of risk attitudes on entrepreneurial survival," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 45-63, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpj:erjour:v:5:y:2015:i:1:p:22:n:2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.