Sustainability orientation and sustainable entrepreneurial intentions of university students in South Africa

Olawale Fatoki

doi:10.9770/jesi.2019.7.2(14)

Abstract

Sustainability behaviour can be predicted by intentions. The study investigated the relationship between sustainability orientation (SO) and sustainable entrepreneurial intentions (SEI) of university students in South Africa. The study adopted a quantitative research design that involved the use of survey. The self-administered questionnaire method was used to collect data from the survey participants using the cross-sectional approach. The participants in the survey were final year undergraduate students of the Department of Business Management of two South African universities. Three hundred and one students participated in the survey. Reliability was measured using the Cronbach’s alpha. The data analysis methods for the study were descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis. The results indicated that SO is a predictor of SEI of university students. Limitations, areas for further study and recommendations to improve the SO of university students focus on passive and active teaching methods of sustainable entrepreneurship.

Highlights

The major focus of entrepreneurship is the discovery, evaluation and exploitation of the opportunities to create goods and services (Venkataraman, 1997; Shane & Venkataraman, 2000)
The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) postulates that the intention of an individual determines his or her actual behaviour
The fundamental assumption of the TPB is that human behaviour is planned and preceded by intention towards that behaviour

Summary

Introduction

The major focus of entrepreneurship is the discovery, evaluation and exploitation of the opportunities to create goods and services (Venkataraman, 1997; Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). The benefits of entrepreneurship are both financial and non-financial and can be examined from individual, business and national levels. The financial benefits of entrepreneurship include increase in cash flow, revenue and return on investment for individuals and businesses and improvement in employment and the gross domestic product of a country. Despite the benefits associated with entrepreneurship in the past century, there are concerns that it has brought about an increase in the level of income inequality and the degradation of the natural environment. Traditional entrepreneurship has brought about many benefits, the world is faced with many social and environmental challenges. These include natural disasters, climate change, environmental pollution, crime and corruption. The net value of the benefits of entrepreneurship should include its social and environmental costs (Dean & McMullen, 2007. van Praag & Versloot, 2008; Zahra & Wright, 2016)

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Conclusion