Description
During in this brief criteria resolve entrepreneurial intentions of management students as roots for new ventures. empirical.
PROBLEMS
OF MANAGEMENT
IN THE 21
st
CENTURY
Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014
84
ISSN 2029-6932
ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS OF
MANAGEMENT STUDENTS AS ROOTS
FOR NEW VENTURES. EMPIRICAL
INVESTIGATION
Piotr Tomski
Cz?stochowa University of Technology, Cz?stochowa, Poland
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Entrepreneurial intentions (EI) that direct attention, experience and activities towards business concepts,
create the form and direction of organizations at their inception stage. Future organizational outcome,
such as survival, development and growth are based on these intentions.
The objective of the study is to examine undergraduates’ EI on the example of the students of Faculty of
Management of Czestochowa University of Technology (FoMCUT). Various dimensions of EI are dis-
cussed in the context of gender, student specialization, the level of studies and selected components of
entrepreneurial attitude orientation. The conducted research leads to the conclusions concerning the
level of EI of students of the faculty which is strictly connected with the science and practice of manage-
ment and entrepreneurship.
The survey took place in December 2013 and January 2014 on the randomly selected sample of 332 stu-
dents of FoMCUT. The sample amounted to 6.9% of the total population of students of the Faculty. The
research tool constructed by the author was the questionnaire. The respondents were the students of both
full- and part-time course of study.
This study is the basis for the future research on predictors of EI as the foundation of new business ven-
tures. It directs attention towards relationships between entrepreneurial ideas and their possible results.
It outlines the background for examining entrepreneurial traits and contexts which are important both for
the development of every economy and creation of directions for the practice of management of micro-
and small enterprises.
Key words: entrepreneurship, new venture creation, education, students.
Introduction
Entrepreneurship is a complex and multi-layered phenomenon. Taking a decision on
starting a business activity is the fnal stage of the process of triggering the entrepreneurial ac-
tivity in a human being. It is preceded by intentions created by a set of different factors result-
ing from both the specifcity of a given individual and their environment.
Entrepreneurial intentions (EI) that direct attention, experience and activities towards
business concepts, create the form and direction of organizations at their inception stage. Future
organizational outcome, such as survival, development and growth are based on these inten-
tions. As B. Bird (1988, pp. 442-453) underlines, ideas of entrepreneurs and their intentions
formulate the initial strategic template of new organizations and are the underpinnings of new
venture development of a relevant and crucial value.
Recently, particularly within the last two decades, the problem of entrepreneurial inten-
tions has been increasingly the center of scientifc attention (Abebe, 2012, pp. 1-23), though,
PROBLEMS
OF MANAGEMENT
IN THE 21
st
CENTURY
Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014
85
ISSN 2029-6932
there is little empirical research on the actual attitudes and feelings of university students to-
wards entrepreneurial activities (Martinez et al., 2007, pp. 92-117; Roudaki, 2009, pp. 36-53).
Research Focus
The creation of new businesses accounts for one fourth to nearly one third of the varia-
tion in the economic growth in a large number of industrialized countries (Reynolds, 2000, pp.
153-227). Discovering EI and the factors infuencing an individual’s choice to pursue indepen-
dent business creation may lead to the insights that would have an impact on economic growth
and development.
The aim of the study is to examine undergraduates’ EI on the example of students of
Faculty of Management of Czestochowa University of Technology (FoMCUT). Various dimen-
sions of EI are discussed in the context of gender, type of studies, level of studies and selected
components of entrepreneurial attitude orientation. The conducted research leads to the conclu-
sions concerning the level of EI of students of the faculty which is strictly connected with the
science and practice of management and entrepreneurship.
Methodology of the Research
General Background of Research
The motivation and demotivation about objects, issues, feelings, beliefs and also many
other verbal and nonverbal expressions commonly referred as intention may be positive or
negative (Bird, 1988, pp. 442-453).
Intention is an individual’s specifc propensity to perform an action or a series of actions.
It is the result of conscious thinking that directs behavior (Parker, 2004). Intentionality is a state
of mind that directs an individual’s attention towards a specifc goal (Bird, 1988, pp. 442-253).
As I. Ajzen (1991, p. 181) states “Intentions are assumed to capture the motivational factors
that infuence a behavior and to indicate how hard people are willing to try or how much effort
they would exert to perform the behavior”. So, the next step is transforming the intentions into
behavior, so intentions concerning entrepreneurship may be considered as predictors of entre-
preneurial behavior.
Entrepreneurship is about the exploitation of a business idea for self-employment (Mar-
tinez et al., 2007, pp. 92-117; Sipa, 2010, pp. 43-65), whereas EI may be regarded as inclina-
tions towards or willingness to start a new business. N.F. Krueger (1993, pp. 5-23) defned EI
as involvement aiming at the start-up of a new business. EI means the possibility of starting a
business in the future.
Entrepreneurial intention can be defned as a conscious awareness and belief by an indi-
vidual that he or she intends to set up a new business venture and plans to do that in the future
(Thompson, 2009, pp. 669-694). Bird (1988, pp. 442-453) defnes intention as the state of
mind directing a person’s attention and action towards self-employment as opposed to orga-
nizational employment. The process of starting a new frm can thus be regarded as voluntary
with conscious intentionality. Signifcantly, intention has been considered as the most powerful
predictor of entrepreneurial behavior (Autio et al., 2001, pp. 145-166; Krueger et al., 2000, pp.
411-452).
EI are of vital importance in understanding the entrepreneurship process, due to their key
role in opening the door to the establishment of a new enterprise (Uygun, Kasimoglu, 2010, pp.
24-40). An intention implies planned behavior - an individual’s intent to create an organization
amounts to planning it as a result of this behavior (Hmieleski, Corbett, 2006, pp. 45-63). In this
framework, intention can be defned as a mental state moderating individual’s attention, experi-
Piotr TOMSKI. Entrepreneurial Intentions of Management Students as Roots for New Ventures. Empirical Investigation
PROBLEMS
OF MANAGEMENT
IN THE 21
st
CENTURY
Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014
86
ISSN 2029-6932
ence and behavior towards realization of a certain intention and developing methods to achieve
it (Bird, Jelinek, 1988, pp. 21-29). Intentions take shape depending on individual’s perception
of social and physical environments and the perceived contexts, expectations, attitudes, beliefs
and choices infuence the development of intentions and, moreover, these perception may be
affected by factors belonging to the individual’s background (Boyd, Vozikis, 1994, pp. 63-77).
Pre-organizational phenomena such as the ones deciding on the initiation of an entrepre-
neurial career are both important and interesting (Bird, 1988, pp. 442–454). It is best to predict
any planned behavior by observing intentions towards that behavior - not by attitudes, beliefs,
personality, or mere demographics. Intentions are the single best predictor of planned behavior
(Bagozzi et al., 1989, pp. 35–62).
In its simplest form, intentions predict behavior, while in turn, certain specifc attitudes
predict intention. Intentions thus serve as a conduit to better understanding the act itself (Ajzen,
1987, pp. 1–63; Ajzen, 1991, pp. 179–211). As such, intentions serve as important mediating
variables between the act of starting a business venture and potential exogenous infuences
(Krueger et al., 2000, pp. 411-432).
Meta-analyses conducted by Kim and Hunter (1993, pp. 331-364) empirically prove that
intentions successfully predict behavior, and attitudes successfully predict intentions. Across a
wide range of studies relating to a wide variety of types of behaviors and the intentions to en-
gage in those behaviors, attitudes explain over 50% of the variance in intentions.
Gelard and Saleh (2010, pp. 10707-10717) investigated the impact of educational sup-
port, structural support, among others on entrepreneurial intentions. They confrmed the key
role of education for the development of entrepreneurial intentions, which implies that the
educational unit (e.g. university) may infuence the EI.
As P. Kyrö and K. Ristimäki (2008, pp. 259-265) underline, the examination of the
intentions seems to be particularly reasonable in the context of the overall defnition of entre-
preneurship, whose essence may amount to searching for the explanations of the dynamics of
behavioral processes taking place in people, renewal of the institutional and organizational cul-
ture and aiming at the development of methodological solutions oriented towards the research
on the processes and enabling the specifcation of their dynamics.
Sample of the Research
The sample amounted to randomly selected 332 students of FoMCUT, which accounted
to 6.9% of the total population of students of the Faculty. In the research there participated 213
women and 119 men aged 20 to 58 (mean age – 23.62, whereas median - 22). The respondents
were the students of both full-time studies (250 people) and part-time studies (82 people). From
among the respondents, one person did not answer the question concerning entrepreneurial in-
tentions, whereas 15 people (4.52%) ran their own business activity. These people were, there-
fore, excluded from the research concerning the identifcation of entrepreneurial intentions,
since the research was directed towards the exploration of the intentions connected with the frst
business. As a result, the subject of the research were 316 people (n=316). The characteristics
of the fnal sample are presented in Table 1.
Piotr TOMSKI. Entrepreneurial Intentions of Management Students as Roots for New Ventures. Empirical Investigation
PROBLEMS
OF MANAGEMENT
IN THE 21
st
CENTURY
Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014
87
ISSN 2029-6932
Table 1. Research Sample Demographics.
N=316
Frequency
Female 207 Full-time studies 244 Bach. /Eng. 238
Male 109 Part-time studies 72 Post bachelor master’s study 78
%
Female 66% Full-time studies 77% Bach. /Eng. 75%
Male 34% Part-time studies 23% Post bachelor master’s study 25%
Instrument and Procedures
The survey took place in December 2013 and January 2014. The research tool construct-
ed by the author was the questionnaire. The statements used in the questionnaire were prepared
on the basis of the research conducted successfully on the students of Sunyani Polytechnic
Marketing Students (Samuel et al., 2013, pp. 37-49). The respondents were requested to express
their attitude towards the nine statements (Table 3), refecting the attitudes towards life goals
(including the professional ones), the future start-up of a business activity and the level of po-
tential involvement and sacrifce for the implementation of self-employment. This way of mea-
surement of EI is acknowledged as the correct one according to the available literary sources
(Uddin, Bose, 2012, p. 130; Hashemi et al., 2012, pp. 94-102). The respondents gave answers
on a fve-point Likert scale, where the answers amounted to: 1-I strongly disagree, 2-I rather
disagree, 3-I neither agree nor disagree (diffcult to say), 4-I rather agree, 5-I strongly agree.
Data Analysis
Descriptive statistics are used to describe the main features of the sample and also corre-
lation coeffcients are calculated so as to trace the close specifcity of the answers. The analyses
were made using MS Excel and PQStat Software. The probability value at the level of p
During in this brief criteria resolve entrepreneurial intentions of management students as roots for new ventures. empirical.
PROBLEMS
OF MANAGEMENT
IN THE 21
st
CENTURY
Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014
84
ISSN 2029-6932
ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS OF
MANAGEMENT STUDENTS AS ROOTS
FOR NEW VENTURES. EMPIRICAL
INVESTIGATION
Piotr Tomski
Cz?stochowa University of Technology, Cz?stochowa, Poland
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Entrepreneurial intentions (EI) that direct attention, experience and activities towards business concepts,
create the form and direction of organizations at their inception stage. Future organizational outcome,
such as survival, development and growth are based on these intentions.
The objective of the study is to examine undergraduates’ EI on the example of the students of Faculty of
Management of Czestochowa University of Technology (FoMCUT). Various dimensions of EI are dis-
cussed in the context of gender, student specialization, the level of studies and selected components of
entrepreneurial attitude orientation. The conducted research leads to the conclusions concerning the
level of EI of students of the faculty which is strictly connected with the science and practice of manage-
ment and entrepreneurship.
The survey took place in December 2013 and January 2014 on the randomly selected sample of 332 stu-
dents of FoMCUT. The sample amounted to 6.9% of the total population of students of the Faculty. The
research tool constructed by the author was the questionnaire. The respondents were the students of both
full- and part-time course of study.
This study is the basis for the future research on predictors of EI as the foundation of new business ven-
tures. It directs attention towards relationships between entrepreneurial ideas and their possible results.
It outlines the background for examining entrepreneurial traits and contexts which are important both for
the development of every economy and creation of directions for the practice of management of micro-
and small enterprises.
Key words: entrepreneurship, new venture creation, education, students.
Introduction
Entrepreneurship is a complex and multi-layered phenomenon. Taking a decision on
starting a business activity is the fnal stage of the process of triggering the entrepreneurial ac-
tivity in a human being. It is preceded by intentions created by a set of different factors result-
ing from both the specifcity of a given individual and their environment.
Entrepreneurial intentions (EI) that direct attention, experience and activities towards
business concepts, create the form and direction of organizations at their inception stage. Future
organizational outcome, such as survival, development and growth are based on these inten-
tions. As B. Bird (1988, pp. 442-453) underlines, ideas of entrepreneurs and their intentions
formulate the initial strategic template of new organizations and are the underpinnings of new
venture development of a relevant and crucial value.
Recently, particularly within the last two decades, the problem of entrepreneurial inten-
tions has been increasingly the center of scientifc attention (Abebe, 2012, pp. 1-23), though,
PROBLEMS
OF MANAGEMENT
IN THE 21
st
CENTURY
Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014
85
ISSN 2029-6932
there is little empirical research on the actual attitudes and feelings of university students to-
wards entrepreneurial activities (Martinez et al., 2007, pp. 92-117; Roudaki, 2009, pp. 36-53).
Research Focus
The creation of new businesses accounts for one fourth to nearly one third of the varia-
tion in the economic growth in a large number of industrialized countries (Reynolds, 2000, pp.
153-227). Discovering EI and the factors infuencing an individual’s choice to pursue indepen-
dent business creation may lead to the insights that would have an impact on economic growth
and development.
The aim of the study is to examine undergraduates’ EI on the example of students of
Faculty of Management of Czestochowa University of Technology (FoMCUT). Various dimen-
sions of EI are discussed in the context of gender, type of studies, level of studies and selected
components of entrepreneurial attitude orientation. The conducted research leads to the conclu-
sions concerning the level of EI of students of the faculty which is strictly connected with the
science and practice of management and entrepreneurship.
Methodology of the Research
General Background of Research
The motivation and demotivation about objects, issues, feelings, beliefs and also many
other verbal and nonverbal expressions commonly referred as intention may be positive or
negative (Bird, 1988, pp. 442-453).
Intention is an individual’s specifc propensity to perform an action or a series of actions.
It is the result of conscious thinking that directs behavior (Parker, 2004). Intentionality is a state
of mind that directs an individual’s attention towards a specifc goal (Bird, 1988, pp. 442-253).
As I. Ajzen (1991, p. 181) states “Intentions are assumed to capture the motivational factors
that infuence a behavior and to indicate how hard people are willing to try or how much effort
they would exert to perform the behavior”. So, the next step is transforming the intentions into
behavior, so intentions concerning entrepreneurship may be considered as predictors of entre-
preneurial behavior.
Entrepreneurship is about the exploitation of a business idea for self-employment (Mar-
tinez et al., 2007, pp. 92-117; Sipa, 2010, pp. 43-65), whereas EI may be regarded as inclina-
tions towards or willingness to start a new business. N.F. Krueger (1993, pp. 5-23) defned EI
as involvement aiming at the start-up of a new business. EI means the possibility of starting a
business in the future.
Entrepreneurial intention can be defned as a conscious awareness and belief by an indi-
vidual that he or she intends to set up a new business venture and plans to do that in the future
(Thompson, 2009, pp. 669-694). Bird (1988, pp. 442-453) defnes intention as the state of
mind directing a person’s attention and action towards self-employment as opposed to orga-
nizational employment. The process of starting a new frm can thus be regarded as voluntary
with conscious intentionality. Signifcantly, intention has been considered as the most powerful
predictor of entrepreneurial behavior (Autio et al., 2001, pp. 145-166; Krueger et al., 2000, pp.
411-452).
EI are of vital importance in understanding the entrepreneurship process, due to their key
role in opening the door to the establishment of a new enterprise (Uygun, Kasimoglu, 2010, pp.
24-40). An intention implies planned behavior - an individual’s intent to create an organization
amounts to planning it as a result of this behavior (Hmieleski, Corbett, 2006, pp. 45-63). In this
framework, intention can be defned as a mental state moderating individual’s attention, experi-
Piotr TOMSKI. Entrepreneurial Intentions of Management Students as Roots for New Ventures. Empirical Investigation
PROBLEMS
OF MANAGEMENT
IN THE 21
st
CENTURY
Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014
86
ISSN 2029-6932
ence and behavior towards realization of a certain intention and developing methods to achieve
it (Bird, Jelinek, 1988, pp. 21-29). Intentions take shape depending on individual’s perception
of social and physical environments and the perceived contexts, expectations, attitudes, beliefs
and choices infuence the development of intentions and, moreover, these perception may be
affected by factors belonging to the individual’s background (Boyd, Vozikis, 1994, pp. 63-77).
Pre-organizational phenomena such as the ones deciding on the initiation of an entrepre-
neurial career are both important and interesting (Bird, 1988, pp. 442–454). It is best to predict
any planned behavior by observing intentions towards that behavior - not by attitudes, beliefs,
personality, or mere demographics. Intentions are the single best predictor of planned behavior
(Bagozzi et al., 1989, pp. 35–62).
In its simplest form, intentions predict behavior, while in turn, certain specifc attitudes
predict intention. Intentions thus serve as a conduit to better understanding the act itself (Ajzen,
1987, pp. 1–63; Ajzen, 1991, pp. 179–211). As such, intentions serve as important mediating
variables between the act of starting a business venture and potential exogenous infuences
(Krueger et al., 2000, pp. 411-432).
Meta-analyses conducted by Kim and Hunter (1993, pp. 331-364) empirically prove that
intentions successfully predict behavior, and attitudes successfully predict intentions. Across a
wide range of studies relating to a wide variety of types of behaviors and the intentions to en-
gage in those behaviors, attitudes explain over 50% of the variance in intentions.
Gelard and Saleh (2010, pp. 10707-10717) investigated the impact of educational sup-
port, structural support, among others on entrepreneurial intentions. They confrmed the key
role of education for the development of entrepreneurial intentions, which implies that the
educational unit (e.g. university) may infuence the EI.
As P. Kyrö and K. Ristimäki (2008, pp. 259-265) underline, the examination of the
intentions seems to be particularly reasonable in the context of the overall defnition of entre-
preneurship, whose essence may amount to searching for the explanations of the dynamics of
behavioral processes taking place in people, renewal of the institutional and organizational cul-
ture and aiming at the development of methodological solutions oriented towards the research
on the processes and enabling the specifcation of their dynamics.
Sample of the Research
The sample amounted to randomly selected 332 students of FoMCUT, which accounted
to 6.9% of the total population of students of the Faculty. In the research there participated 213
women and 119 men aged 20 to 58 (mean age – 23.62, whereas median - 22). The respondents
were the students of both full-time studies (250 people) and part-time studies (82 people). From
among the respondents, one person did not answer the question concerning entrepreneurial in-
tentions, whereas 15 people (4.52%) ran their own business activity. These people were, there-
fore, excluded from the research concerning the identifcation of entrepreneurial intentions,
since the research was directed towards the exploration of the intentions connected with the frst
business. As a result, the subject of the research were 316 people (n=316). The characteristics
of the fnal sample are presented in Table 1.
Piotr TOMSKI. Entrepreneurial Intentions of Management Students as Roots for New Ventures. Empirical Investigation
PROBLEMS
OF MANAGEMENT
IN THE 21
st
CENTURY
Vol. 9, No. 1, 2014
87
ISSN 2029-6932
Table 1. Research Sample Demographics.
N=316
Frequency
Female 207 Full-time studies 244 Bach. /Eng. 238
Male 109 Part-time studies 72 Post bachelor master’s study 78
%
Female 66% Full-time studies 77% Bach. /Eng. 75%
Male 34% Part-time studies 23% Post bachelor master’s study 25%
Instrument and Procedures
The survey took place in December 2013 and January 2014. The research tool construct-
ed by the author was the questionnaire. The statements used in the questionnaire were prepared
on the basis of the research conducted successfully on the students of Sunyani Polytechnic
Marketing Students (Samuel et al., 2013, pp. 37-49). The respondents were requested to express
their attitude towards the nine statements (Table 3), refecting the attitudes towards life goals
(including the professional ones), the future start-up of a business activity and the level of po-
tential involvement and sacrifce for the implementation of self-employment. This way of mea-
surement of EI is acknowledged as the correct one according to the available literary sources
(Uddin, Bose, 2012, p. 130; Hashemi et al., 2012, pp. 94-102). The respondents gave answers
on a fve-point Likert scale, where the answers amounted to: 1-I strongly disagree, 2-I rather
disagree, 3-I neither agree nor disagree (diffcult to say), 4-I rather agree, 5-I strongly agree.
Data Analysis
Descriptive statistics are used to describe the main features of the sample and also corre-
lation coeffcients are calculated so as to trace the close specifcity of the answers. The analyses
were made using MS Excel and PQStat Software. The probability value at the level of p