Abstract
This paper investigates the entrepreneurial intentions of 329 final-year commerce students in a rural university in the Limpopo province. The study is based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The objectives of the study were to test whether the TPB can help explain the entrepreneurial intentions of rural university students; to determine whether rural students will have intentions to start a business and to test the validity of the entrepreneurial intention questionnaire in a South African context. The study was conducted by means of a survey. SPSS was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that entrepreneurial intention of the respondents can be predicted from the attitude towards becoming an entrepreneur, perceived behavioural control and subjective norms. The findings reveal that the TPB is a valuable tool in understanding entrepreneurial intention of rural university students in South Africa. The majority of students intend to start a business in the future and the entrepreneurial intention questionnaire was found to be a valid instrument to measure the entrepreneurial intention of students in a South African context. Recommendations for policy makers, entrepreneurship educators and researchers have been highlighted.
Highlights
The South African government views the development of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) as a mechanism through which it can create jobs, promote economic growth and equity in the country (Department of Trade and Industry, 2004; 2005 & 2010)
The results revealed that being from an entrepreneurial family background and prior start-up experience had a very weak but statistically significant negative correlation with entrepreneurial intention (p < .01), the attitude towards becoming an entrepreneur (p < .01), perceived behavioural control (p < .01) and subjective norms (p < .01)
This is contrary to earlier research that has found that entrepreneurial family background and prior self-employment experience increase the likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur (Douglas & Fitzsimmons, 2013; Uygun & Kasimoglu, 2013; Dohse & Walter, 2012). The results support those of Margues et al (2012) and Zhang et al (2013) in the sense that direct experience with the entrepreneurial behaviour or observing relatives who are entrepreneurs may expose one to the outcomes that may negatively impact on the decision to choose an entrepreneurial career
Summary
The South African government views the development of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) as a mechanism through which it can create jobs, promote economic growth and equity in the country (Department of Trade and Industry, 2004; 2005 & 2010). Entrepreneurial activity in rural areas is reported to be low when compared to urban areas and is dominated by necessity entrepreneurs (Orford, Herington & Wood, 2005). These low entrepreneurial activity rates and intention levels call for research regarding what could be the determinants of entrepreneurship in South Africa, with specific reference to the intention to start a business. Prior research indicates that specific behaviours such as entrepreneurship can be predicted with considerable accuracy from intentions to engage in the behaviours under consideration (Krueger & Brazeal, 1994; Kickul & Krueger, 2005; Souitaris et al, 2007). It was found that greater growth aspiration was significantly associated with higher business growth (Wiklund & Shepherd, 2003) and entrepreneurial intentions are significantly related to entrepreneurial behaviour (Kolvereid & Isaksen, 2006; Zhang & Yang, 2006)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
