Factors of influence on the entrepreneurial interest: an analysis with students of information technology related courses

Francisco José Da Costa

doi:10.4301/s1807-17752009000200005

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to analyze the entrepreneurial interest of students in information technology related courses. A literature review was performed, from which four hypotheses were announced, affirming that the student interest in entrepreneurial activity is influenced by (1) the perceived vocation of the area, (2) the ownership of a company, (3) the perceived social support from friends and family, and (4) the entrepreneurial skills mastery. A field study was developed, with data collected from the 171 students of higher education institutions from Fortaleza. The data were analyzed by using statistical techniques of descriptive analysis, analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis. It was found that: (1) students, in general, have a moderate predisposition to engage in entrepreneurial activities; (2) the entrepreneurial interest is influenced by the perceived entrepreneurial vocation of the area, the social support, and the perceived strategic entrepreneurial skills mastery.

Highlights

Professional background in university courses, in the various academic areas, has presented strong changes in the past 15 years, influenced, among other reasons, by the alternative of entrepreneurship for the future professionals
Several courses of the areas of Applied Social Science and Information technology, have begun to include at least one discipline directly related to entrepreneurship, with guidance for the construction of the necessary skills for initiating and maintaining a new business
When asked about the professional future, the majority of the students stated that they wanted to find a job, with 59.3% of respondents. Those who wished to work in their own company totalized 23.8%, and only 2.3% intended to work in family businesses (11.6% indicated ‘other’ as a response to the item). These results demonstrate that the search for a job, at the expense of entrepreneurial activity, is a preferential option for students of courses from the area of information technology

Summary

Introduction

Professional background in university courses, in the various academic areas, has presented strong changes in the past 15 years, influenced, among other reasons, by the alternative of entrepreneurship for the future professionals. It is assumed that meeting the skills requirements, despite its relevance to the success of a business, has limited potential for the construction of entrepreneurial interest of future professionals Aspects such as national environment (BEGLEY; TAN, 2001), social relations (GREVE; SALAFF, 2001), family influence (MILLER, 2000), among others, are examples of factors of influence that university institutions have limited power to work on. Schumpeter (1934) works with the concept of creative destruction, according to which new practices replace older ones, which become obsolete Such forms of innovation are, in their totality, possibilities to change the production standards

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