Integrating self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior to strengthen entrepreneurial intention among undergraduate students

• Main Authors: Al Jubari, Ibrahim Hizam Ali, Hassan, Arif
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: HF5001 Business. Business Administration
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/25134/1/Ibrahim.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/25134/4/ASEAN_ENTREPRENEURSHIP_CONFERENCE_2012.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/25134/; http://aec2012.uitm.edu.my/international/template/senarai%20AEC%20_latest.pdf

It is well established that entrepreneurship is a major contributor to the growth of wealth and well-being of societies. It is increasingly getting more recognized among researchers, practitioners and policy makers around the globe. It directly affects the development of nations’ economies by creating jobs and transforming people’s lives through innovation and technology. It is observed that when nations promote entrepreneurship, they become more competitive and have advantage over other nations. Promoting entrepreneurship encourage people, especially the youth, to produce new ideas and help them transform those ideas into tangible services or products. It is also noticed that it reduces the pressure on governments of the unemployment by not only securing jobs for entrepreneurs themselves, but also it is likely that those entrepreneurs will employ others as well. Despite its significance, little attention is given to entrepreneurship in Arab countries, like Yemen. In Yemen, majority the population is under 25 of age, which is a great resource that needs to be fully utilized for the betterment of the whole nation. Young people prefer to get jobs with government or the private sector, for which they wait for years and they may never get ones. Perhaps due to the lack of promotion for entrepreneurship, majority of the university graduates tend to have negative attitudes towards entrepreneurship. It is also well-established that entrepreneurship is an intentional process and a planned behaviour. A lot of research has confirmed that intention is the best predictor of entrepreneurial behaviour. Little is done in the Arab region including Yemen. According to theory of planned behaviour, taking a decision to start a business is an intentional that may lead to actual behaviour. One of the factors that influence intention to be an entrepreneur is personal attitude. This exploratory study tries to shed light on how to develop positive attitudes among university students towards entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours. In this study, it is argued that those students have a full potential to be entrepreneurs if they find a supportive environment. This supportive environment involves family, friends, universities, vocational training and community colleges, government institutions, private sector and etc. Perhaps, in order to raise awareness and inculcate the value of entrepreneurship in university students’ hearts and minds, a culture of entrepreneurial activities should be developed through supporting their autonomy, competence and relatedness needs. When this support is provided, then they will be able to recognize entrepreneurial ideas and work toward transforming this idea to real projects. More specifically, this study argues that satisfaction of students’ basic psychological needs has a positive influence on their perception of the entrepreneurship and attitudes and thus on entrepreneurial intention. Thereafter, this study presents a conceptual framework and hypotheses based on the literature review to guide future research. Also, discussion on the study’s implications will be presented. The limitation of this study is that it is based on literature review and empirical research is needed.