UNCOVERING THE FACTORS INFLUENCING ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: AN APPLICATION OF SHAPERO'S MODEL

Authors

  • Ramazan Uctu Department of Business Administration, American University of Iraq-Sulaimani (AUIS), Iraq and Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5189-5762
  • Rebean Al-Silefanee Department of Economics and Finance, University of Kurdistan Hawler (UKH), Iraq and Department of Economics, College of Administration and Economics, University of Duhok, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3251-3674

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37335/ijek.v11i1.182

Abstract

Entrepreneurial intention (EI) is regarded as one of the most important indicators of entrepreneurial activities and behaviors, including the process of launching a new enterprise. While research on entrepreneurial intention has increased globally in recent years, there has been little research on the entrepreneurial intentions of university students in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). This study examines the factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions among university students in the KRI, concentrating on perceived desirability, perceived feasibility, and propensity to act. A survey involving 213 business students from two universities in the cities of Erbil and Sulaimaniyah was conducted, and the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis in SPSS. The findings demonstrated a positive correlation between the perceived desirability and the business student’s entrepreneurial intentions but no significant connection with perceived feasibility. These results indicate that students’ choice to pursue entrepreneurship is mainly driven by their willingness and interest in the field, highlighting the significance of the psychological elements in Shapero and Sokol's model for enhancing students' entrepreneurial intentions. The study adds to the existing literature on factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions among university students in developing countries, providing valuable insights for university administration and educators in developing curricula and programs that align with students' goals in shaping their future endeavours, as well as for policymakers seeking to promote an entrepreneurial culture among university students in the KRI region.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Ramazan Uctu, Department of Business Administration, American University of Iraq-Sulaimani (AUIS), Iraq and Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

E-mail: uctu@yahoo.com

Ramazan Uctu is an Associate Professor at the Business Administration Department, American University of Iraq-Sulaimani, Iraq. He is also a Research Fellow at the Economics Department, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, where he completed his PhD. His areas of interest include innovation systems, biotechnology in developing countries, university spin-offs, technology transfer and commercialisations, technological entrepreneurship, and local economic development.

Rebean Al-Silefanee, Department of Economics and Finance, University of Kurdistan Hawler (UKH), Iraq and Department of Economics, College of Administration and Economics, University of Duhok, Iraq

E-mail: rebean.ramadhan@ukh.edu.krd

Rebean Al-Silefanee finished his PhD in Entrepreneurship and Private Sector Development at the School of Economics (U.S.E.), Utrecht University, Netherlands. He is currently a full-time Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the Department of Economics and Finance, University of Kurdistan Hewler (UKH), Iraq. His research interests include entrepreneurship, private sector development, economic growth, environmental economics, and energy.

Downloads

Published

2023-06-29

How to Cite

Uctu, R., & Al-Silefanee, R. (2023). UNCOVERING THE FACTORS INFLUENCING ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: AN APPLICATION OF SHAPERO’S MODEL. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, 11(1), 35–50. https://doi.org/10.37335/ijek.v11i1.182

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2023): International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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
IJEK is an Open Access journal and does not charge readers or their institutions for access. 
  • Copyright belongs to the Center for International Scientific Research of VŠO and VŠPP.
  • The publisher, Center for International Scientific Research of VŠO and VŠPP, provides free access policy to the Journal of Tourism and Services.
  • International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge is an open-access journal with CC BY-NC-ND licensing policy which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.