RECONSIDERING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION-ACTION GAP FOR STUDENTS TRAINED IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN TUNISIA: AN ANALYSIS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIOLOGY OF USES

Abstract

Purpose of the study: The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the processes at work in shaping students’ entrepreneurial intentions following training courses in entrepreneurship, and of the gap between entrepreneurial intention and action often seen in these training devices. The goal is to collect information that is difficult to access through the usual methods of evaluating entrepreneurial intentions by shedding light on ways in which students make use of these devices. Methodology: Exploratory qualitative research (comprehensive case study) carried out as part of an Entrepreneurial Training Device (Professional Master’s Degree) at a business school in Tunisia, using participant observation techniques, supplemented and cross-checked with multiple data types (institutional records reflecting educational intentions, regular interactions with students, etc.). Main Findings: The Entrepreneurship Training Device is put at the service of the goals to be accomplished by the students (obtaining a Master’s degree, expanding their studies, increasing their chances of re-enrolling a more typical/ “prestigious” course). Applications of this study: The research can be used in various disciplines (entrepreneurship, the science of education, sociology), and in various fields: the design and evaluation of entrepreneurship instruments, assessment of the entrepreneurial intentions of students, correlations and differences between entrepreneurial purpose and behavior, cultural variations in entrepreneurship, determinants of the choice of an entrepreneurial career, social representations of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. Novelty/Originality of this study: The mobilization of the Sociology of uses enables a deeper understanding of the motives and logics of action of students enrolling in a specialized Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship in Tunisia, and a better understanding of the degree to which these motives and logics help them to participate effectively in an entrepreneurial intention phase.