Psychological propellers of propensity for business start-ups among university students

Abstract

In a society plagued by inadequate employment opportunities as evidenced by relatively high unemployment rates, the youths are often the most affected. A commonly touted recourse in such situations is an inclination towards self-employment through business start-ups by university students. This entrepreneurial action is, however, likely to crystallise only if students are imbued with the right attitude, ability and perceptions about entrepreneurial venturing. Consequently, this study set out to determine the extent to which attitude towards entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial self-efficacy of university students are associated with their propensity for business start-ups, duly cognisant of the possible moderating role of their perceptions of the effectiveness of entrepreneurship courses. The study utilised a quantitative methodological approach and relied on data collected through a location intercept survey, from a sample of university students in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Measures of central tendency and dispersion, confirmatory factor analysis and regression analysis were employed to examine the study‘s data. The study found that students‘ attitude towards entrepreneurship and their entrepreneurial self-efficacy were statistically related to propensity for business start-ups. However, the moderating role of perceived effectiveness of entrepreneurship courses was only evident for the relationship between attitude towards entrepreneurship and propensity for business start-ups. Crucially, the moderating effect is positive and directly linked to scores on the perceived effectiveness of entrepreneurship courses scale. Therefore, policy makers and other stakeholders must adopt a three-pronged approach that instigates positive shifts in attitudes, abilities and perceptions related to entrepreneurship.