INFLUENCE OF CONTEXTUAL AND INDIVIDUAL FACTORS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BUSINESS INTENTIONS

Abstract

It is important to identify the intentions of young people to start a business and the factors that influence them, as well as to find an explanation that leads to entrepreneurial activities and the emergence of new businesses. Entrepreneurial intentions are important in the context of individual career development. Identifying an individual's entrepreneurial intentions is important because it focuses on activities that could add value to both the individual and society in the future, as well as create new jobs. Entrepreneurial intentions are based on the theory of planned behavior and are defined as a commitment to start a new business. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of academic study and business experience on the business intentions of engineering and business students. The tasks of the study were to analyze the impact of contextual and individual factors on young people's entrepreneurial intentions. The structure of the research is based on the theory model for planned behavior (TPB), perceived risks, academic specialties and students' personalities. 53 students from the field of engineering and business studies were interviewed. The study was conducted using a survey method to collect data and test the hypotheses using a structured questionnaire. Elements of each design were developed based on a literature review and adapted from articles on behavioral and business intentions. The study showed significant correlations between contextual and individual indicators, business academic experience, academic direction and business intentions. The study also contributes to some discussion about the role of academic students' academic experience in the business process.