Carlos Bazan, Arifusalam Shaikh, Sean Frederick, Ali Amjad, Simon Yap, Chantel Finn, James Rayner
The traditional way in which universities may influence the entrepreneurial intention of students is through the offering of entrepreneurship education programs. Researchers have been studying the impact of entrepreneurship education programs on entrepreneurial intention of students for several years. There is also evidence in the literature that the university’s environment and support system are additional ways of motivating students to consider an entrepreneurial career after graduation.
The aim of this study is to understand the influence of the university’s environment and support system on the precursors of entrepreneurial intention of students at Memorial University. Situational and contextual variables typically have an indirect effect on entrepreneurial intention by influencing key attitudes and general motivation to behave. This study applies a customized entrepreneurial intention model based on the Theory of Planned Behavior to understand the precursors of intention to start a new business. Another goal of the study is to develop a methodology to study the evolution of the motivational factors related to university’s ecosystem that may shape entrepreneurial intention of students over time. The proposed methodology is also relevant to other aspiring entrepreneurial universities hoping to play a more prominent role in the economic development of their communities.
Findings of the study agree with those reported by previous authors in that, Memorial University’s ecosystem has a significant positive relation with students’ perceived behavioral control. However, findings of the study also suggest that Memorial University’s ecosystem has a positive but not significant influence on students’ attitude towards the behavior of starting a new business. The outcomes of the study will help Memorial University to assess the efficacy of its innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives in promoting entrepreneurial activities. By understanding its entrepreneurial efficacy, the university will be better equipped to raise the perceptions of venture feasibility and desirability, thus increasing students’ perceptions of opportunity.