Entrepreneurial Motivation Among Female College Student in Kerala

Abstract

Entrepreneurship and co-operative self-employment are the key vehicles of employment generation in a society. They increase social and economic welfare by providing solutions to unemployment and underemployment problems. In particular, entrepreneurs of micro and small enterprises always inject new dynamism into an economy by creating novel and revolutionary businesses. Also, it is an essential means of maintaining and/or enhancing the innovation dynamics of the communities. In this way, entrepreneurial initiatives of a section of people contribute to the restructuring and re-modelling of contemporary business and economy. Moreover entrepreneurship, in contrast to paid job or any other form of employment, provides a constant stream of learning experiences, which results in a more sustained development. In recent years, rapid changes unleashed by globalisation and liberalisation have caused an economic scenario that is both uncertain and unpredictable. This in turn has shrunk recruitment opportunities and significantly altered the employment conditions in many traditional types of employment, which in the past had absorbed most students. Therefore, quite a substantial percentage of graduating students are more likely to establish their own ventures as rather a permanent career option than a complementary one. However, both the extent of the propensity for students to do so and the opportunities for them to accumulate the necessary skills, competencies and resources are highly variable between localities, regions and countries. This study intended to identify the entrepreneurial motivation among female students who are going to enter into their work life within a shorter period of time. Attitude towards entrepreneurship, most important aspect of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial abilities and their intentions were analysed. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data from 200 students who are in the final year degree and post graduate business degree program. Convenience sampling technique is used. The questionnaire was divided in to two parts. The first part covering the demographic characteristics of the respondents and the second part covering the entrepreneurial mind-set of students. Results of the study indicated that best quality required for an entrepreneur is that he/she should be a self-starter and interest in entrepreneurship is influenced by Parent’s Occupation, household structure and education level.