From entrepreneurial desirability to entrepreneurial self-efficacy: the need for entrepreneurship education—a survey of university students in eight countries

Abstract

This paper attempts to contribute to the growing theoretical and empirical literature on entrepreneurial intent among university students. It is argued that entrepreneurial desirability precedes entrepreneurial self-efficacy and measuring it and the relevant factors that may influence it would be valuable, if not a necessity, prior to planning entrepreneurial education in a specific context. The paper used the survey method. Over six thousand students from eight country-branches of a regional university responded. The paper seeks first to assess whether entrepreneurship as an activity is desirable and then find out whether the students support the idea of introducing entrepreneurship education and how they want it to be organised. The level of entrepreneurial desirability and of the call for introducing entrepreneurial education was very high in all countries and all colleges and among both genders. Some factors that may affect entrepreneurial desirability, and which may influence how entrepreneurial education is to be planned, have been identified and tested statistically. These factors are internal; associated with the individual, e.g., educational status and work experience, and external; pertinent to the wider societal context, e.g., gender and employment situation in the country. Entrepreneurial education in universities where the students had no prior exposure to it, it is suggested, is to focus mainly on developing entrepreneurial self-efficacy.