Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent Finnish university students endorse entrepreneurial intent and the ways in which they position themselves in relation to entrepreneurship according to their self-perceived abilities or “ability self”.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted by means of an e-survey, and the participants comprised the sample of students (n=1,819) from two Finnish universities, representing diverse fields of study.FindingsIt was found that a great majority of the students showed a relatively low intent to become an entrepreneur. The perception of abilities, such as innovativeness and ambitiousness-competitiveness, was positively related with entrepreneurial intent, whereas the perception of academic abilities and “conventional” employee skills indicated inverse associations.Social implicationsThe findings suggest that in terms of self-perceived abilities, entrepreneurship in an academic context is perceived as a rather restricted category to which only a few specific individuals have access. Accordingly, there is a certain tension between the tenets of entrepreneurship and corresponding abilities, and the ethos of universities and related high-valued abilities such as theoreticality and criticality.Originality/valueAlthough employability and entrepreneur intent have been widely studied, little is known about students’ identification with entrepreneurship according to their ability perceptions. The present study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on university students’ “internal employability” that involves students’ self-assurance and views of work-related relevance with regard to supposed abilities.
Highlights
As Vivas and Alvarez-Hevia (2017) maintained in their recent review, the transition process of university graduates from university to working life has changed significantly during the past decade in many European countries
A linear regression analysis with a forced entry method was conducted: the score of entrepreneurial intent was set as the dependent variable and the six dimensions of abilities as the independent variables
There were a few significant, albeit moderate, correlations among the independent variables (Table II), collinearity statistics suggested that the regression analysis was suitable for this data
Summary
As Vivas and Alvarez-Hevia (2017) maintained in their recent review, the transition process of university graduates from university to working life has changed significantly during the past decade in many European countries. © Hannu Räty, Katri Komulainen, Ulla Hytti, Kati Kasanen, Päivi Siivonen and Inna Kozlinska. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
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