An examination of factors that influence entrepreneurial intention of high school students in Kenya

Entrepreneurial intention;promoting entrepreneurship;job-creation

Kibuka, Gethaiga

关键词: Entrepreneurial intention;    promoting entrepreneurship;    job-creation;   

Others  :  https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/24351/Kibuka_Gethaiga.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

美国|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

AbstractConsiderable research has been carried out on entrepreneurship in efforts tounderstand its incidence in order to influence and maximize its benefits. Essentially,researchers and policy makers have sought to understand the link between individualsand business creation: Why some people start businesses while others do not. Theresearch indicates that personality traits, individual background factors and association ofentrepreneurship with career choice and small business enterprises, cannot sufficientlyexplain entrepreneurship. It is recognized that entrepreneurship is an intentional processand based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior, the most defining characteristic ofentrepreneurship is the intention to start a business.The purpose of this study was, therefore, to examine factors that influenceentrepreneurial intention in high school students in Kenya. Specifically, the study aimedat determining if there were relationships between the perceptions of desirability, andfeasibility of entrepreneurship with entrepreneurial intention of the students, identifyingany difference in these perceptions with students of different backgrounds, anddeveloping a model to predict entrepreneurship in the students. The study, therefore,tested how well Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior applied in the Kenyan situation.A questionnaire was developed and administered to 969 final year high schoolstudents at a critical important point in their career decision making. Participants wereselected using a combined convenience and random sampling technique, consideringgender, rural/urban location, cost, and accessibility. Survey was the major method of datacollection. Data analysis methods included descriptive statistics, correlation, ANOVA,factor analysis, effect size, and regression analysis.iiiThe findings of this study corroborate results from past studies. Attitudes arefound to influence intention, and the attitudes to be moderated by individual backgroundfactors. Perceived personal desirability of entrepreneurship was found to have the greatestinfluence on entrepreneurial intention and perceived feasibility the lowest. The studyfindings also showed that perceived social desirability and feasibility of entrepreneurshipcontributed to perception of personal desirability, and that the background factors,including gender and prior experience, influenced entrepreneurial intention both directlyand indirectly. In addition, based on the literature reviewed, the study finds thatentrepreneurship promotion requires reduction of the high small business mortality rateand creation of both entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial opportunities (Kruger, 2000;Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). These findings have theoretical and practical implicationsfor researchers, policy makers, teachers, and other entrepreneurship practitioners inKenya.