Abstract
Higher education has a deep impact on the diversity and success of entrepreneurs. It is clear that educated entrepreneurs have an advantage over other entrepreneurs given their specialized knowledge. However, the effect of higher education on entrepreneurial intention has been less studied. Does higher education or the subject imparted affect the intention to start a business? This article proposes a model that adds two exogenous variables to the Theory of Planned Behavior. The first variable is formal education in entrepreneurship represented by Subject and Entrepreneurship, and the second one is the entrepreneur environment, represented by University and Entrepreneurship. The model analyzes both variables and their impact on Attitude and Perceived Control. Data for this quantitative study is collected from an online semi-structured questionnaire by 583 university students during October and November 2014. The reliability of the scales was assessed using Cronbach Alpha, while the model was tested using structural equations. Our results confirm that university’s entrepreneurial environment, as well as the subjects studied, do have an effect on entrepreneurial intention through attitude. Additionally, the influence of both variables through the Perceived Control was not significant. Consequently, higher education must go beyond theory and focus on fostering an environment that encourages and raises awareness of entrepreneurship.
References
Ajzen, Icek. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Ajzen, Icek. (2001). Nature and operation of attitudes. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 27-58. doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.27
Amorós, José Ernesto and Abarca, Adriana. (2014). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Reporte Nacional de Chile 2014. Santiago, Chile: Universidad del Desarrollo.
Amorós, José Ernesto; Fernández, Cristóbal and Tapia, Juan. (2012). Quantifying the relationship between entrepreneurship and competitiveness development stages in Latin America. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 8(3), 249-270. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-010-0165-9
Baumol, William. (2004). Education for innovation: Entrepreneurial breakthroughs versus corporate incremental improvements. Innovation policy and the economy, 5, 33-56. Retrieved from: www.jstor.org/stable/25056170
Byrne, Barbara. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts. Applications, and Programming. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Cabana-Villca, Ricardo; Cortés-Castillo, Ivan; Plaza-Pasten, Diego; Castillo-Vergara, Mauricio and Álvarez-Marin, Alejandro. (2013). Análisis de las capacidades emprendedoras potenciales y efectivas en alumnos de centros de educación superior. Journal of Technology Management and Innovation, 8(1), 65-75. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242013000100007
Carpi, Amparo and Breva, Alicia. (2001). La predicción de la conducta a través de los constructos que integran la teoría de acción planeada. Revista electrónica de motivación y emoción, 4(7). Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/11441/71640
Contreras Serrano, Carlos. (2016). Modelos de ecuaciones estructurales, una manera eficiente de probar hipótesis de negocio. Sinnetic News, 8(2), 1-6.
Delmar, Frédéric and Davidsson, Per. (2000). Where do they come from? Prevalence and characteristics of nascent entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship and regional development, 12(1), 1-23. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/089856200283063
Dickson, Pat; Solomon, George and Weaver, K. Mark. (2008). Entrepreneurial selection and success: does education matter? Journal of small business and enterprise development, 15(2), 239-258. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000810871655
Do Paço, Arminda; Ferreira, João: Raposo, Mário; Rodrigues, Ricardo and Dinis, Anabela. (2011). Behaviors and entrepreneurial intention: Empirical findings about secondary students. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 9(1), 20-38. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-010-0071-9
Espíritu, Roberto and Sastre, Miguel. (2007). La actitud emprendedora durante la vida académica de los estudiantes universitarios. Cuadernos de estudios empresariales, 17, 95-116. Retrieved from http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CESE/article/download/CESE0707110095A/9419
Fairlie, Robert and Robb, Alicia. (2009). Gender differences in business performance: evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners survey. Small Business Economics, 33(4), 375-395. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-009-9207-5
Fayolle, Alain; Gailly, Benoît and Lassas-Clerc, Narjisse. (2006). Assessing the impact of entrepreneurship education programmes: A new methodology. Journal of European Industrial Training, 30(9), 701-720. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/03090590610715022
Fayolle, Alain; Liñán, Francisco and Moriano, Juan. (2014). Beyond entrepreneurial intentions: values and motivations in entrepreneurship. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 10(4), 679–689. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-014-0306-7
Flores, María Pilar and Palao, José. (2013). Evaluación del impacto de la educación superior en la iniciativa emprendedora. Historia y Comunicación Social, 18, 377-386. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/rev_HICS.2013.v18.44256
George, Nerine Mary; Parida, Vinit; Lahti, Tom and Wincent, Joakim. (2014). A systematic literature review of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition: insights on influencing factors. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 12(2), 309-350. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-014-0347-y
Goel, Geetika and Rishi, Meenakshi. (2012). Promoting entrepreneurship to alleviate poverty in India: An overview of government schemes, private‐sector programs, and initiatives in the citizens' sector. Thunderbird International Business Review, 54(1), 45-57. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/tie.21437
Guzmán, Joaquín and Liñán, Francisco. (2005). Evolución de la educación empresarial en Estados Unidos y Europa: su papel como instrumento de desarrollo. Revista de Economía Mundial, 12, 149-171. Retrieved from https://idus.us.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11441/16467/file_1.pdf?sequence=1
IBM Corp. (2013). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.
IBM Corp. (2013). IBM SPSS AMOS for Windows, Version 22. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.
Joensuu-Salo, Sanna; Varamäki, Elina and Viljamaa, Anmari. (2015). Beyond intentions–what makes a student start a firm? Education+ Training, 57(8/9), 853-873. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-11-2014-0142
Kautonen, Teemu; Van Gelderen, Marco and Tornikoski, Erno. (2013). Predicting entrepreneurial behavior: a test of the theory of planned behavior. Applied Economics, 45(6), 697-707. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2011.610750
Kolvereid, Lars. (1996). Prediction of employment status choice intention. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 21(1), 47-57. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/104225879602100104
Krauss, Catherine. (2011). Las actitudes emprendedoras en los estudiantes de la Universidad Católica Del Uruguay. Dimensión Empresarial, 9(1), 28-40. Retrieved from https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/tesis?codigo=133343
Krueger, Norris and Carsrud, Alan. (1993). Entrepreneurial intentions: applying the theory of planned behavior. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 5(4), 315-330. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08985629300000020
Krueger, Norris; Reilly, Michael and Carsrud, Alan. (2000). Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of business venturing, 15(5-6), 411-432. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(98)00033-0
Lanero, Ana; Sánchez, José Carlos; Villanueva, José and D’Almeida, Oscar. (2007). La perspectiva cognitiva en el proceso emprendedor. In X Congreso Nacional de Psicología Social: Un Encuentro de Perspectivas, University of Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain.
Lanero, Ana; Vázquez, José Luis; Gutiérrez, Pablo and García, M. Purificación. (2011). The impact of entrepreneurship education in European universities: an intention-based approach analyzed in the Spanish area. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 8(2), 111-130. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-011-0067-8
Leitch, Claire; Hazlett, Shirley-Anne and Pittaway, Luke. (2012). Entrepreneurship education and context. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 24(9-10), 733-740. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2012.733613
Li-li, Hou and Lian-sen, Wang. (2015). Two-Level, Three-Field, and Four-Section System: Expansion of Entrepreneurship Education for College and University Students. US-China Education Review, 5(3), 206-213. doi: 10.17265/2161-6248/2015.03.006
Lima, Edmilson; Lopes, Rose; Nassif, Vânia and da Silva, Dirceu. (2015). Opportunities to improve entrepreneurship education: Contributions considering brazilian challenges. Journal of Small Business Management, 53(4), 1033-1051. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12110
Liñán, Francisco. (2004). Educación empresarial y modelo de intenciones, formación para un empresariado de calidad: análisis empírico para la provincia de Sevilla (Tesis doctoral). Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, España. Retrieved from https://idus.us.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11441/15036/M_TD-0503.pdf?sequence=1
Liñán, Francisco and Chen, Yi-Wen. (2006). Testing the entrepreneurial intention model on a two-country sample. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia de l'Empresa. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11441/60716
Liñán, Francisco; Rodríguez-Cohard, Juan Carlos and Rueda-Cantuche, José. (2011). Factors affecting entrepreneurial intention levels: a role for education. International entrepreneurship and management Journal, 7(2), 195-218. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-010-0154-z
Lüthje, Christian and Franke, Nikolaus. (2003). The ‘making’of an entrepreneur: testing a model of entrepreneurial intent among engineering students at MIT. RyD Management, 33(2), 135-147. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9310.00288
Mandakovic, Vesna;, Abarca, Adriana and Amorós, José Ernesto. (2016). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Reporte Nacional de Chile 2015. Santiago, Chile: Universidad del Desarrollo.
Martín, Natalia; Hernangómez, Juan José and Rodríguez, Ana. (2005). Análisis de la formación y la experiencia laboral como determinantes del espíritu emprendedor de los estudiantes universitarios. Revista Asturiana de Economía – RAE, Universidad de Valladolid, 34, 131- 145. Retrieved from: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=2235356
Martínez de Luco, Garazi and Campos, José Antonio. (2014). La intención emprendedora en estudiantes universitarios: El caso de la Universidad de Deusto. Boletín de Estudios Económicos, 69(211), 151-172. Retrieved from: https://search.proquest.com/openview/dccf68d1a0635f8361c63491f55fabde/1?pq-origsite=gscholarandcbl=1536340
Minniti, María. (2012). El emprendimiento y el crecimiento económico de las naciones. Economía industrial, (383), 23-30. Retrieved from https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=3903869
Mokhtar, Rozita and Zainuddin, Yuserrie. (2011). Entrepreneurial intention of accounting students in Malaysian polytechnics institutions: A theory of planned behavior approach. Paper presented at Proceedings of Global Business and Social Science Research Conference, Beijing, China, June 21.
Moriano, Juan Antonio; Palací, Francisco and Morales, José Francisco. (2006). El perfil psicosocial del emprendedor universitario. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones, 22(1), 75-99. Retrieved from http://www.redalyc.org/html/2313/231317045004/
Morrison, Alison. (2000). Entrepreneurship: what triggers it? International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, 6(2), 59-71. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550010335976
Oosterbeek, Hessel; van Praag, Mirjam and Ijsselstein, Auke. (2010). The impact of entrepreneurship entrepreneurship education skills and motivation. European Economic Review, 54(3), 442-454. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2009.08.002
Peterman, Nicole and Kennedy, Jessica. (2003). Enterprise education: Influencing students’ perceptions of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 28(2), 129-144. doi: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1540-6520.2003.00035.x
Poblete, Carlos and Amorós, José Ernesto. (2013). University support in the development of regional entrepreneurial activity: An exploratory study from Chile. Investigación Regional, (26), 159-177. Retrieved from: http://www.redalyc.org/html/289/28928246008/
Pring, Richard. (2004). The skills revolution. Oxford review of education, 30(1), 105-116. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/0305498042000190078
Rae, David, Martin, Lynn, Antcliff, Valerie and Hannon, Paul. (2012) Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in English Higher Education: 2010 and beyond. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 19(3), 380-401. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/14626001211250090
Sánchez, Isadora and Pérez, Macarena. (2016). Las intenciones emprendedoras de los estudiantes de Economía. VII Jornadas de Innovación e Investigación Docente (pp. 9-22). Universidad de Sevilla, España.
Santos-Cumplido, Francisco and Liñán, Francisco. (2007). Measuring entrepreneurial quality in southern Europe. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 3(1), 87-107. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-006-0015-y
Solesvik, Marina Z. (2013). Entrepreneurial motivations and intentions: investigating the role of education major. Education + Training, 55(3), 253-271. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/00400911311309314
Soria-Barreto, Karla; Zuñiga-Jara, Sergio and Ruiz, Sofía. (2016). Determinantes de la intención emprendedora: Nueva evidencia. Interciencia, 41(5), 325-329. Retrieved from https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/339/33945552006.pdf
Tkachev, Alexei and Kolvereid, Lars. (1999). Self-employment intentions among Russian students. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 11(3), 269–280. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/089856299283209
Todorovic, Zelimir William; McNaughton, Rod and Guild, Paul. (2011). ENTRE-U: An entrepreneurial orientation scale for universities. Technovation, 31(2), 128-137. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2010.10.009
Toledano, Nuria. (2006). Las perspectivas empresariales de los estudiantes universitarios. Revista de Educación, (341), 803-828. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10272/10853
Valencia, Jhoany; Montoya, Iván and Montoya, Alexandra. (2015). Factores explicativos de las intenciones emprendedoras en estudiantes universitarios. Espacios, 36(5), 7. Retrieved from http://www.revistaespacios.com/a15v36n05/15360507.html
Van Gelderen, Marco: Brand, Maryse; Van Praag, Mirjam; Bodewes, Wynand; Poutsma, Erik and Van Gils, Anita. (2008). Explaining entrepreneurial intentions by means of the theory of planned behavior. Career Development International, 13(6), 538-559. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430810901688
Veciana, José María; Aponte, Marinés and Urbano, David. (2005). University students’ attitudes towards entrepreneurship: A two countries comparison. The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 1(2), 165-182. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-005-1127-5
Von Graevenitz, Georg; Harhoff, Dietmar and Weber, Richard. (2010). The effects of entrepreneurship education. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 76(1), 90-112. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2010.02.015
Wu, Sizong and Wu, Lingfei. (2008). The impact of higher education on entrepreneurial intentions of university students in China. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 15(4), 752-774. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/14626000810917843
Yang, Jianfeng. (2013). The theory of planned behavior and prediction of entrepreneurial intention among Chinese undergraduates. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 41(3), 367-376. doi: https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2013.41.3.367