Assessing students entrepreneurial at a selected South African university

Abstract

South Africa is faced with the challenge of unemployment among the youth. Despite this challenge, there are very few opportunities that can enable youth to remain relevant in the economy. While a rising number of young people are considering establishing a business, the sector is beset by challenges such as a lack of information, capital, networking, and mentoring. This makes it very difficult for the youth, especially graduates from universities, to embark on entrepreneurship, which is viewed as an alternative career. This study examined the readiness of students towards entrepreneurship at a selected South African university. A quantitative and descriptive research design was adopted using a positivist research philosophy. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 400 students were selected as respondents using a probability sampling technique known as simple random sampling. However, only 332 questionnaires were returned, representing an 83% response rate, which is considered adequate by social research standards. A structural equation model was used to analyse data by means of a statistical package known as AMOS and SmartPLS3. In addition, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. This study used a Likert scale to gauge students’ perception, and the findings showed that there was an overwhelming agreement by the students on the key attributes of entrepreneurship readiness, namely, subjective norms, perceived behaviour control, personal attitude, self-efficacy, and entrepreneurship intention, with mean scores above 3.5. Furthermore, the relationships between subjective norms, perceived behaviour control, personal attitude, and entrepreneurship intention were positive and significant. Conversely, the relationship between self-efficacy and entrepreneurship intention was negative and insignificant. Finally, an entrepreneurship intention was developed, which validates the theory and original model of planned behaviour by Ajzen (1991). Recommendations have been provided to enable higher education institutional managers to instil an entrepreneurship culture. This study has contributed to the literature on entrepreneurship in the higher education sector and the developing world. In addition, it is envisaged that this study will assist scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to understand the dynamics of entrepreneurial intentions among students in higher education institutions. Keywords: entrepreneurship, unemployment, planned behaviour, higher education institutions, entrepreneurship intention, structural equation model, SmartPLS3