EFFECT OF THE UNIVERSITY IN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION OF FEMALE STUDENTS

Bazan, C., Datta, A., Gaultois, H., Shaikh, A., Gillespie, K. & Jones, J. (2019). Effect of the University in the Entrepreneurial Intention of Female Students. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, 7(2), 73-97. doi:10.12345-0012

  • Carlos Bazan Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s, NL Canada
  • Aparajita Datta Faculty of Business Administration, Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s, NL Canada
  • Hannah Gaultois Centre for Social Enterprise, Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s, NL Canada
  • Arifusalam Shaikh Faculty of Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s, NL Canada
  • Katie Gillespie Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s, NL Canada
  • Jada Jones Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s, NL Canada
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37335/ijek.v7i2.95
Keywords: entrepreneurial intention; university environment and support system; theory of planned behavior; female student entrepreneurs; regional development.

Abstract

Many researchers have studied gender differences in the entrepreneurial intention of students by analyzing the influence of several intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention. Fewer researchers have analyzed the influence of the university’s environment and support system on the precursors of the entrepreneurial intention of students in general and of female students in particular. This study aims to fill that gap by analyzing the influence of the university’s environment and support system on the precursors of entrepreneurial intention of female students at a university in Atlantic Canada. Findings of this study confirm that two precursors of entrepreneurial intention—i.e., attitude toward behavior and perceived behavioral control—mediate the effects of the university’s environment and support system on the entrepreneurial intention of female students. They also confirm that the university’s environment and support system comprises three distinct but interrelated dimensions, namely entrepreneurship training, start-up support, and entrepreneurial milieu. Results of this study also suggest that the university’s environment and support system has a positive relation with the perceived behavioral control of female students. However, findings of this study also suggest that the university’s environment and support system has a positive but negligible influence on the attitude toward the behavior of the same students. The outcomes of this study will help the university assess the efficacy of its innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives in promoting entrepreneurial activities. By understanding its entrepreneurial efficacy, the institution will be better equipped to raise the perceptions of venture feasibility and desirability, thus increasing students’ perceptions of opportunity.

Published
2019-12-31
Issue
Vol. 7 No. 2 (2019): International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge
Section
Research

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge (ISSN 2336-2960) is published by the Center for International Scientific Research of VŠO and VŠPP in cooperation with the following partners:

  • University College of Business in Prague, Czech Republic
  • University of Entrepreneurship and Law, Prague, Czech Republic
  • School of Business and Administration of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Portugal
  • Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, University of Zilina, Slovakia

No part of this journal may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage retrieval system, without permission from authors.

Copyright belongs to the Center for International Scientific Research of VŠO and VŠPP. All rights reserved.

The publisher provides free access policy to the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge.