Abstract
Orientation: Against the backdrop of recent youth unemployment dynamics, scholars have increasingly focused their attention on youth entrepreneurial intentions and their associated factors, such as entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial characteristics.Research purpose: This article investigated the individual and combined effect of entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial characteristics on youth entrepreneurial intentions.Motivation for the study: Notwithstanding the popularity of entrepreneurship education, its impact on learners’ entrepreneurial intentions is still not clearly established in the literature. Moreover, whilst there is a growing consensus about the influence of certain entrepreneurial characteristics on entrepreneurial intentions, rarely has the role of entrepreneurship education in this relationship been examined.Research design, approach and method: Data for the analysis came from a cross-sectional survey of secondary students enrolled in Junior Achievement South Africa (JASA)’s Mini Enterprise Programme and a control group of secondary students. The data-collection instrument was a questionnaire compiled from previously validated statements, which was validly completed by 827 respondents.Main findings: Hierarchical logistic regression analysis revealed that entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial characteristics per se do not influence entrepreneurial intentions positively. However, once interaction effects were introduced, entrepreneurship education moderated the influence of need for achievement and family support on entrepreneurial intentions in a positive direction.Practical/managerial implications: Entrepreneurship-education-and-training institutions such as JASA should selectively screen their candidates to ensure that they also possess need for achievement and support from their close family. Contribution/value add: This is the first study investigating both the individual and combined effect of entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial characteristics on secondary students’ entrepreneurial intentions.
Highlights
Entrepreneurial intentions (EI) have consistently represented a relevant construct in entrepreneurship research, based on the evidence that they predict future entrepreneurial activity, even in the very long term (Liñán & Fayolle 2015:922)
Some gaps exist in youth EI research, which were identified in this article
The first gap concerns entrepreneurship education (EE), which has developed as a possible way to foster youth EI, in line with the growing consensus that entrepreneurship can be taught
Summary
Entrepreneurial intentions (EI) have consistently represented a relevant construct in entrepreneurship research, based on the evidence that they predict future entrepreneurial activity, even in the very long term (Liñán & Fayolle 2015:922). Youth is a stage during which people’s dreams and life aspirations begin to take shape and influence future life choices In this respect, it is crucial that young people participate meaningfully in the economy, or else they stand to be victims of what the International Labour Organisation (ILO) calls a long-run ‘scarring effect’ (Matsumoto, Hengge & Islam 2012:1), whereby, once unemployed, it is even more difficult to find employment in the future. It is crucial that young people participate meaningfully in the economy, or else they stand to be victims of what the International Labour Organisation (ILO) calls a long-run ‘scarring effect’ (Matsumoto, Hengge & Islam 2012:1), whereby, once unemployed, it is even more difficult to find employment in the future In this regard, the global youth unemployment rate of 13% for the period 2012 to 2014, coupled with steadily declining global youth labour force participation http://www.actacommercii.co.za
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