Bringing Youth Towards Entrepreneurship: A Field Experiment in Pakistan

Abstract

This study examines the causal effect of a one-day intervention based on motivation, information, knowledge and role modelling on entrepreneurial attitude, entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial implementation intentions in a field experiment. A pre-test post-test design was used (N = 34) with 17 potential entrepreneurs in each group (control and experiment). The pre-test and post-test scores of experiment group allowed the construction of latent change model which was tested by using multivariate linear regressions in partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrated a significant and positive effect of intervention on entrepreneurial attitude, which in turn increased entrepreneurial implementation intentions through entrepreneurial intention. To the best of researchers’ knowledge, the study is the first to simultaneously examine the causal effect of intervention on entrepreneurial attitude and the effect of resultant change in entrepreneurial attitude on entrepreneurial implementation intentions through entrepreneurial intention. This is first attempt to study the effect of intervention beyond entrepreneurial intention and to explore the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial implementation intentions. Theoretical implication of the study is that entrepreneurial intention mediates the effect of entrepreneurial attitude on entrepreneurial implementation intentions. Whereas the practical implication of the study is that youth graduating from universities and colleges can be made prefer entrepreneurship over wage employment through short interventions. Limitations have been discussed and future recommendations have been proposed.