Interest of undergraduates towards forming an entrepreneurial venture: evidence from Sri Lanka.

Abstract

University system is expected to contribute to the economy by producing entrepreneurs. In the context of Sri Lanka, even with the rise of entrepreneurship programmes and an increase in students following such programmes it is observed, the interest towards creating a business of their own is low. Therefore, it is vital that a developing country like Sri Lanka comprehends this issue and promotes entrepreneurship development. In the above backdrop, present study attempted to enlighten on the factors affecting the entrepreneurial intentions of the undergraduates involved in entrepreneurship programmes in the universities in Sri Lanka. Following the positivistic research philosophy and quantitative methodology, factors affecting to entrepreneurial intentions of undergraduates was investigated. The data was analysed by using the structural equation modeling approach to examine the model and tested the hypothesised relationships with AMOS. The findings of the study shed lights on the factors affecting entrepreneurial intention of undergraduates. Accordingly, findings of the study revealed that the undergraduate’s decision to start a business in future is affected by personality factors such as locus of control, need for achievement and external factors such as educational and relational support. This study has significant managerial implications particularly, for the university administrators in redesigning their curriculum and for the policy makers in the country to promote entrepreneurship among the undergraduates.