The Influence of Personality Traits and Subjective Norms on Entrepreneurial Intentions of Technical University Students: A Developing Economy Perspective

The current study assesses the influence of students’ personality traits (Need for Achievement and locus of control) and subjective norms on the entrepreneurial intentions of TVET students at the tertiary level in Ghana. The study adopted a quantitative approach through a structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis. Four hundred thirty-two technical university students in Ghana responded to a self-administered questionnaire. The primary data was analysed with the SmartPLS 4 Software. Results from the analysis indicate that psychological traits such as the need for achievement and locus of control positively and significantly relate to attitude towards entrepreneurial intention. Environmental factors such as subjective norms significantly influence entrepreneurial intentions. Additionally, attitude toward entrepreneurship mediated the association between need for achievement and entrepreneurial intention, but did not mediate the nexus between subjective norms, locus of control, and entrepreneurial intention. Literature reviewed for this article revealed a huge gap concerning the joint impact of personal and subjective norms on entrepreneurial intention among TVET students in Ghana. The study’s findings bring to the fore the need to motivate technical university students by working on their psychology and mentality towards entrepreneurship and providing environmental support systems to help students activate their start-ups upon graduation.