Keywords

2.1 Introduction

There has been a growing interest in understanding how entrepreneurship education can enhance entrepreneurial initiatives by encouraging more creative thinking (Fayolle & Gailly, 2015). This is due entrepreneurship education encouraging a more enterprising society and this has been reinforced by public policy planners and government bodies around the world (Jones & Iredale, 2014). Most research about entrepreneurship education indicates that there seems to be a positive relationship between entrepreneurial education and actual entrepreneurship rates (e.g., Fayolle & Linan, 2014; Lima, Lopes, Nassif, & da Silva, 2015; Varela & Jimenez, 2001). This is due to the ability of having an entrepreneurial mindset being promoted through education as students who studied entrepreneurship have been found to have higher intentions to start business ventures (Noel, 2002).

The success of entrepreneurship education depends on the teaching and contents of the course (Volkman, 2004). In entrepreneurship courses, it is important to include information about how behavioural traits such as proactiveness and risk taking impact on decision making abilities (Heuer & Kolvereid, 2014). In this paper, we define entrepreneurial intentions as an individual’s desire to start or own their own business (Bae, Qian, Miao, & Fiet, 2014). Many individuals want to have a business so they form a set of intentions that can help self predict their future behaviour (Crant, 1996). Entrepreneurial behaviour is often formed based on the intentions individuals have about their ability to start a business (Sheeran, 2002). This is due to intention being considered one of the best predictors of actual behaviour (Bagozzi, Baumgartner, & Yi, 1989).

There are a variety of learning activities in entrepreneurship courses designed to encourage formation of business ventures such as business plans and action programs (Schaper & Casimir, 2007). This enables students in entrepreneurship courses to learn through creating business plans that incorporate case studies. In this research we draw on Byabashaija and Katono’s (2011) study who found that individual attitudes towards venture creation can change over a 4 month entrepreneurship course. Another study by Athayde (2009) found similar results over a 1 year academic period, which indicated that there is a positive affect towards venture creation from entrepreneurship courses. Other research by Kolvereid and Amo (2007) has also found that the way to measure whether entrepreneurship education has been successful is to evaluate start up rates.

Despite the increasing use of entrepreneurship education sometimes it is hard to assess actual behaviour because of the delay so intentions are often used as a proxy (Heuer & Kolvereid, 2014). This has meant that researchers such as McMullan and Gillin (1998) have used the likelihood of venture creation as a proxy to study entrepreneurial intentions and this allows it to be measured in order to understand future entrepreneurial behaviour. In the current line of research, the objective of the present study is to develop an integrative psychological model about the formation of entrepreneurial intentions, including in it the variables self-efficacy, risk-taking propensity and proactiveness as the main preceding factors to entrepreneurial initiative because of their influence on intentions for self-employment.

This paper contributes to the growth of literature discussing entrepreneurship education by analysing the key determinants affecting enterprise development. This aids the body of knowledge about entrepreneurship education in better understanding the ability to teach entrepreneurial practices that lead to better social and economic outcomes. In addition, there is a need to evaluate entrepreneurship by focusing on behavioural intentions of individuals that can be integrated into entrepreneurship curriculum. This paper seeks to address the gap in the literature by focusing on entrepreneurial intentions and behavioural characteristics by proposing research hypotheses that test these relationships. The paper can then be used to better inform educational practices about entrepreneurship and encourage more research about the role of environmental factors in influencing entrepreneurial behaviour.

This paper is structured as follows. First, the literature on entrepreneurship education is reviewed with the theory of planned behaviour being stated as the theoretical framework. The research hypothesis based on the theory of planned behaviour are then explained and their relationship to entrepreneurial intentions. This is followed by a description of the data analysis and results. Finally, the implications of the study are discussed in the conclusion section by focusing on theoretical and practical implications. Limitations of the study leading to future research suggestions are then stated.

2.2 Theoretical Background

2.2.1 Theory of Planned Behavior

The theory of planned behaviour is the theoretical framework of this paper as it is useful to understand entrepreneurial intentions (Heuer & Kolvereid, 2014). It was originally developed by Ajzen (1991) to understand intentions that can help measure actual individual behaviour. In the context of entrepreneurship education, it helps to analyse the processes leading to entrepreneurial behaviour. The theory of planned behaviour comes from psychology studies as it focuses on attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control (Ajzen, 1991).

The premise of the theory of planned behaviour is to use intention as a proxy for behaviour. Ajzen (2005) proposed that when the likelihood of success is high then individuals will focus more on their intentions. This means that venture creation will result when intentions can be used to measure actual behaviour (Kolvereid & Isaksen, 2006). Based on the theory of planned behaviour, there are factors influencing entrepreneurial intention including demographics, self-efficacy, risk taking and proactiveness. These factors impact entrepreneurial intention, which in turn affects the start up rate of business ventures.

The theory of planned behaviour implies that cognitive structures including intention need to be changed for learning to occur (Heuer & Kolvereid, 2014). Cognitive structures can include an individual’s underlying behaviour that can be influenced through information content (Krueger, 2009). As the acquisition of knowledge can change behaviour, entrepreneurial intentions are impacted by learning outcomes. As individuals learn different behaviour and change their attitudes this will affect their intentions to be entrepreneurial. The theory of planned behaviour focuses on attitudes, norms and behaviour, which are key interactions that an individual has that determines their intentions (Beadnell et al., 2007). The next section will further discuss the proposed model and how it relates to entrepreneurial intention.

2.2.2 Entrepreneurial Intention from a Theory of Planned Behaviour Perspective: Proposed Model

More educational courses now emphasise an entrepreneurial approach to learning, which is different to the traditional approach to teaching in a classroom setting (Jones & Iredale, 2014). This increased emphasis on the benefits of entrepreneurship has been in conjunction with more researchers wanting to know more about how an entrepreneurial mindset can be developed (McLarty, Highley, & Anderson, 2010; Ratten, 2014). A way to evaluate entrepreneurship education is to focus on entrepreneurial intention and the factors that influence this behaviour. Figure 2.1 depicts the proposed model, which relates demographic variables, self-efficacy, proactiveness and risk taking to entrepreneurial intention.

Fig. 2.1
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Conceptual research model

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One of the most important factors influencing entrepreneurial intention of individuals is demographic as they help to understand how a person might behave in the future. This is due to demographics such as age, gender, graduation rate and employment occupation affecting the ability of individuals to be entrepreneurial. The employment occupation of a person’s parents helps to decide whether they will engage in entrepreneurial behaviour. Heuer and Kolvereid (2014) highlight how the children of self-employed parents are more likely to have higher entrepreneurial intentions. Duchesneau and Gartner (1990) also supports this view that having one or both parent self-employed leads their children having more business ventures. The reason for this may be that individuals learn by experience and the development of entrepreneurial behaviour can be influenced by family background.

Another demographic variable influencing entrepreneurial intention is gender . The stereotype of entrepreneurs is that males are more entrepreneurial due to their behavioural traits being more orientated towards risk taking activity (Bae et al., 2014). Previous research by Weber (2011) suggests that there is a gender difference in career aspirations because of skills. This has led to a stream of research suggesting that men have higher entrepreneurial intentions than women (e.g., BarNir, Watson, & Hutchins, 2011; Haus, Steinmetz, Isidor, & Kabst, 2013). As a result gender seems to have an influence on entrepreneurial intention as it can teach females to be more entrepreneurial (Williams & Subich, 2006). This may mean that entrepreneurship education might be needed more for females in order to increase their entrepreneurial intentions (Bae et al., 2014).

Age is another demographic factor influencing entrepreneurial intention. This is because the entrepreneurial process of learning can help promote more independence in the classroom as people learn in different ways. Governments around the world are interested in how they can influence entrepreneurial activity (Raposo, Ferreira, do Paço, & Rodrigues, 2008). This means that by focusing on age of entrepreneurs it can help create jobs and foster economic development (Heuer & Kolvereid, 2014).

Educational levels such as graduation from high school can also affect entrepreneurial intentions. This is due to the importance of learning by association that incorporates experimentation in an entrepreneurship context (Minniti & Bygrave, 2001). Graduating from high school can help build an individual’s confidence and improve their entrepreneurial intention. Thus, we suggest the following hypothesis:

  • Hypothesis 1: Demographic variables positively influence entrepreneurial intention

Self-efficacy is defined as an individual’s belief in their ability to perform certain tasks and abilities (Bae et al., 2014). In an entrepreneurship context, self-efficacy relates to roles associated with risk taking, innovativeness, proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness (McGee, Peterson, Mueller, & Sequeira, 2009). This means that entrepreneurial capabilities are determined by self-efficacy (Chen, Greene, & Crick, 1998). Entrepreneurial self-efficacy helps to mediate the relationship between education and intentions to start a new business (Chen, 2010). This is due to education about behaviors needed to be entrepreneurial being taught including coping and motivational strategies (Segal, Schoenfeld, & Borgia, 2007). Entrepreneurship education also enables business planning to be taught that builds skills needed to obtain finance and funding (Wang, Wong, & Lu, 2002). Krueger, Reilly, and Carsrud (2000) found that entrepreneurship education encourages better interaction with successful business owners and fosters the development of self-efficacy. Stumpf, Brief, and Hartman (1987) also found that greater expectations of success are associated with educational training. Therefore, based on the literature, we suggest the following hypothesis:

  • Hypothesis 2: Self-efficacy positively influences entrepreneurial intention

Proactiveness is the ability of an individual to focus on future behaviour. This behaviour is helpful to individuals wanting to increase their entrepreneurial capabilities by focusing on firm creation (Liñán, 2008). Individuals with attitudes that are forward thinking and progressive are likely to be ahead of their competitors. This behavioural trait is important for emphasising knowledge acquisition and dissemination about entrepreneurial business endeavours (Bae et al., 2014). Charney and Libecap (2000) found that individuals who have studied entrepreneurship are more likely to start a new business venture. This may lead to a self-selection bias in that more proactive individuals are studying entrepreneurship as they are comfortable with this behaviour (Noel, 2002). Focusing on being proactive helps to understand the relationship between behaviour and intention (von Graevenitz, Harhoff, & Weber, 2010). The belief an individual has prior to deciding to be entrepreneurial is an important indicator of behaviour (Oosterbeek, Van Praag, & Ijsselstein, 2010). These beliefs can correlate being proactive with actual intentions and lead to the following hypothesis:

  • Hypothesis 3: Proactiveness positively influences entrepreneurial intention

The risk taking propensity of an individual is important in deciding their entrepreneurial intentions. Part of this involves uncertainty avoidance , which is the lack of tolerance for unknown outcomes (Bae et al., 2014). Uncertainty can impact on the way individuals perceive risk as they tend to follow social norms and practices (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004). Risk taking involves behaviour that is uncertain and may lead to better performance outcomes. The willingness to take tasks incorporates ambiguity as a result of unknown results.

Entrepreneurship education can promote a person’s propensity for risk taking activity (Bae et al., 2014) This is due to the knowledge learnt through entrepreneurship education enhancing an individual’s knowledge of self employment or creativity as a career path (Slavtchev, Laspita, & Patzelt, 2012). This means that risk taking propensity of an individual is more related to entrepreneurial intentions because of the incorporation of business planning skills. Based on this literature, we therefore propose the following hypothesis:

  • Hypothesis 4: Risk taking positively influences entrepreneurial intention

2.3 Methodology

This chapter is based on a cross-sectional survey that allows the research hypothesis developed from the literature review to be tested. The survey contained a number of survey items that were developed from previous research to measure self-efficacy, risk taking propensity, proactiveness and demographic factors influencing entrepreneurial intention. The methodology enables a series of hypothesis to be tested to understand the intention of an individual to start a business venture. This permits a confirmatory approach in which each hypothesis is either supported or not supported by the data analysis.

2.3.1 Sample Characterization

In Table 2.1 we present the technical record of research: the population, the collection of information and statistical methods.

Table 2.1 Imprint research
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In this subsection we present the results of our sample of the 125 students from a Brazilian university, with an average age of students was 27.8 ± 7.3 years, ranging between this 15 to 44 years. In the following Tables 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 the characteristics of the 125 respondents are presented, it appears that 57.6 % were female, 77.6 % had attended high school in public school, 40.0 % of parents of respondents worked in organizations/private companies and 37.6 % of the mothers had an autonomous profession.

Table 2.2 Variables used in research and statistical techniques used
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Table 2.3 Hypotheses and statistical techniques
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Table 2.2 shows the independent and dependent variables and the respective statistical techniques that were used to analyse the conceptual model. The dimension, variable and frequency of the statistics are stated that were included in the survey questionnaire given to students in the sample. Table 2.3 states each of the hypotheses used to test the conceptual model and the statistical techniques used in the data analysis.

2.3.2 Presentation and Analysis of Results

2.3.2.1 Statistical Tool Validation

This section will discuss the empirical validation of the factors used for the validation of hypotheses. Table 2.4 below shows the descriptive statistics of the factors and the correlation between them and the Cronbach’s alpha. The reliability of the variables included in the conceptual model varies from acceptable (alpha = 0.664) and good (alpha = 0.843).

Table 2.4 Descriptive statistics and correlations between factors (diagonally is presented with the Cronbach’s alpha)
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2.3.2.2 Hypotheses Analysis

This data analysis section presents the results for the assessment of the hypotheses under study. Three models were used in the data analysis to understand the relationships between the variables and entrepreneurial intentions. The first model evaluates the effect of sociodemographic variables and entrepreneurial intention. The second model estimates the effect of the various factors that influence entrepreneurial intention. The last model simultaneously evaluates all variables from the conceptual model.

Table 2.5 shows the three linear regression models that predict entrepreneurial intention. In terms of sociodemographic variables included in model I, that respondents whose father works in organizations/private company (B = −0.33; p < 0.01) have significantly less entrepreneurial intention than respondents whose father is an autonomous worker. Model III indicates that the greater the age of respondents the less entrepreneurial intention they will have (B = −0.02, p < 0.05). For the different personal dimensions in the analysis, it is observed in Models II and III that higher risk taking propensity is associated with entrepreneurial intention (Model III: B = 0.46; p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant result from the data analysis for self-efficacy and proactiveness.

Table 2.5 Multiple linear regression; Dependent variable: entrepreneurial intention
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Table 2.6 shows the results for all the tested hypotheses as developed from the conceptual model. The data analysis found support for hypothesis 1 in that the younger the respondents in the survey were the higher their entrepreneurial intention indicating support for demographic variables being important. In addition, the data analysis showed support for respondents whose father works in a private company having less entrepreneurial orientation than those whose father is self employed. Hypothesis 2 was not supported by the data analysis, which indicates that self-efficacy does not affect entrepreneurial intentions.

Table 2.6 Summary of results of the hypotheses
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In addition, hypothesis 3 was not supported thereby meaning that proactiveness might not matter when intending to become an entrepreneur. Hypothesis 4 was supported by the data analysis indicating that risk taking propensity does influence entrepreneurial intention.

2.4 Findings and Discussion

Entrepreneurial intentions are one of the most important factors affecting individual action (Bae et al., 2014). The results of the data analysis shows support for demographic variables and risk taking propensity affecting entrepreneurial intentions but no support for self-efficacy or proactiveness. This means that teaching these behavioural traits can be included in entrepreneurship courses by using experimental learning tools (Solomon, 2007). The support for age and occupation of father impacting entrepreneurial intentions means that entrepreneurship education can act as an equalizer to encourage entrepreneurial intentions based on gender (Wilson, Kickul, & Marlino, 2007). Previous research has found that gender of parents influences the extent an individual might participate in the workforce (Emrich, Denmark, & Den Hartog, 2004). This means that gender roles play a part in a society, which are further differentiated depending on the parents occupation.

The increase in entrepreneurship education programs have been driven by the recognition of it in shaping a regions development. The result for risk taking propensity influencing entrepreneurial intentions means that individuals with a developable set of skills are often attracted to entrepreneurship education (Johannisson, 1991). This is due to entrepreneurs being associated with personality traits such as self-efficacy, proactiveness and risk taking orientation (Heuer & Kolvereid, 2014).

Entrepreneurship education helps individuals improve their self-efficacy, which in turn affects their entrepreneurial intentions (Bae et al., 2014). This is important as education helps encourage individuals to increase their vicarious experience and emotional behaviour (Bandura, 1982). In addition, education in an entrepreneurial context refers to mastery of business practices and verbal persuasion needed to sell and market business ventures (Wilson et al., 2007).

Previous research has supported the link between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions (e.g., Douglas, 2013; Fitzsimmons & Douglas, 2011). This is because entrepreneurship education involves the pedagogy to study entrepreneurial skills (Kuratko, 2005). Most importantly, the process of teaching entrepreneurial attitudes is important to individuals wanting to start or manage a business venture (Fayolle, Gailly, & Lassas-Clerc, 2006). Depending on the audience, entrepreneurship education can make individuals aware about the issues facing business owners (Liñán, 2004). Entrepreneurship education makes people aware about the tools they will need in a business setting (McMullan & Long, 1987). These tools increase visibility about business ventures and help prepare aspiring entrepreneurs (Katz, 2003). The next section will further discuss the conclusions from the study including practical and theoretical implications for entrepreneurship education.

2.5 Conclusions

This paper has discussed the role of entrepreneurship education in facilitating entrepreneurial intentions. The role of self-efficacy, risk taking, proactiveness and demographic variables was examined in terms of how these factors affect entrepreneurial intentions. The evidence gathered from the survey and results highlight the importance of entrepreneurship education. The next section will further discuss theoretical implications followed by practical implications.

2.5.1 Theoretical Implications

There are still theoretical differences about the most important factors driving entrepreneurial intentions (Bae et al., 2014). This is partly due to the abundant literature discussing education from an entrepreneurship perspective. The advantage of this paper for understanding theoretical roles affecting entrepreneurial education is that there are positive relationships between demographic variables and risks taking with entrepreneurial intentions. This paper utilised the theory of planned behaviour to understand the drivers of entrepreneurial intention. This leads to the assertion that theories describing ways to educate individuals about entrepreneurship are crucial in linking the relationship between entrepreneurship theory and practice (Martin, McNally, & Kay, 2013).

As pointed out by previous research it is helpful to challenge current studies about the strength of the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions (e.g., Bae et al., 2014; Honig, 2004). The study reported in this paper extends current theoretical underpinnings about entrepreneurship education by stressing how it is a good pedagogical resource. This is supported by the results of this study finding that some demographic factors can influence entrepreneurial intentions.

The main findings of the study are that individuals whose father works in a private company have less entrepreneurial intention. In addition, the results of this study indicated that age does impact entrepreneurial intention, which can influence educational programs. As there is debate in the literature about whether age does influence entrepreneurial intention this study adds to the theoretical understanding about entrepreneurship education. The results also show that there can be a relationship between risk taking propensity and entrepreneurial intention. This leads to entrepreneurship education being an important component of building an ecosystem supporting future business venture activity.

The findings of the study discussed in this paper demonstrate that individual behavioural characteristics such as risk taking proclivity affect entrepreneurial intention. This correlation between risk taking and entrepreneurial intention is likely to help improve educational outcomes and training programs. Business schools can focus their entrepreneurship education classes around understanding how demographic variables are important but students can still learn to be entrepreneurial despite their age or risk taking ability.

2.5.2 Practical Implications

The results of this study have important practical implications both for business schools offering entrepreneurship programs but also for entrepreneurial organizations and small business owners. The positive effects of demographic variables and risk taking on entrepreneurial intentions found in this study mean that entrepreneurship educators and program developers should focus on these aspects more in designing and implementing courses.

Policy makers from a local, regional and country perspective can also utilise the results of this study to show how individual behaviour can affect entrepreneurial intention. As more governments focus on entrepreneurship as a way to increase global competitiveness, it is important to control for the influence of age, parent occupation and risk taking orientation. Regional differences within a country may also influence the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education programs. As there was support for demographic factors and risk taking influencing entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurship educators can design pre-education and post-education surveys to evaluate the learning that takes place when individuals study entrepreneurship. Bae et al. (2014) found that the pre- and post-education entrepreneurial intentions do not differ with the additional of entrepreneurship education. However, other research has found that pre-education entrepreneurial intentions might account for some differences in post-education entrepreneurial intentions (e.g., Lima et al., 2015; Sánchez, 2011).

Globally entrepreneurship education should be improved to take into account demographic and individual personality traits in order to improve the success rates of new business ventures. This can be done by targeting learning goals in entrepreneurship courses around learning to change individual behaviour in order to be more creative and risk taking. The significant growth in entrepreneurship courses around the world means that there is more ways for students to learn about entrepreneurship. This can be evaluated in entrepreneurship courses by focusing on the linkage between environmental variables and entrepreneurial orientation. Internationally entrepreneurship educators can identify specific factors in an individual’s internal and external environment for promoting better entrepreneurial skills.

2.5.3 Limitations and Future Research Suggestions

Despite the theoretical and practical relevance of this paper there are some limitations that give rise to future research suggestions. The primary limitation is that the survey respondents are students, which may limit generalizability of the findings to the general population. However, as the focus of the paper is on entrepreneurship education, studying student’s entrepreneurial orientation is key to designing and implementing better programs for aspiring entrepreneurs. It would have been preferable to study pre and post entrepreneurial intentions of students to see how entrepreneurship education can enhance ability to start new business ventures. Future research could study in more detail how entrepreneurial intention of students changes over time and whether entrepreneurship education increases or decreases entrepreneurial intention. This would increase the research scope of this study but would require more time and financial resources to implement especially if conducted on a global scale.

This study focused on entrepreneurial intention, which as suggested by the literature is the key factor affecting actual number of businesses started by individuals. Despite the advantage of focusing on entrepreneurial intention there may be other factors affecting new business start up rates (Bae et al., 2014). This may lead to another interesting avenue for future research is whether there is a bias towards the type of individuals choosing entrepreneurship education (Elfenbein, Hamilton, & Zenger, 2010). As a result of this the results of this paper should also be compared to future studies that investigate the motivators for students studying entrepreneurship courses.

Entrepreneurship education can extend our knowledge about whether demographic variables as tested in this paper including family background affect entrepreneurial intention. We suggest that future research look more into how demographics such as employment occupation of mother and father change over time based on societal expectations. The present study found that students whose fathers worked in private companies had a lesser entrepreneurial intention. Future research could identify the types of parental occupations that affect entrepreneurial intention to see if there is a difference in industry or geographic location.

Lastly, future research could identify new types of factors that affect entrepreneurial intention that have not been previously addressed in the literature. This could include looking at individual attributes such as enthusiasm and perseverance are inherited based on parent’s prior experience and moderate the way entrepreneurship education has evolved. As more scholars, entrepreneurs and policy makers become interested in the relationships between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention, there are many interesting research avenues that can be taken.