International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

Key Factors affecting Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment Intentions among Social Sciences and Humanities Students

Open access

Noor Syakirah Zakaria, Syahruddin Awang Ahmad, Siti Norbayu Yusof, Fauzie Sarjono, Aisah Meri, Zainuddin Baco, Amrullah Maraining

Pages 2119-2132 Received: 04 Jul, 2023 Revised: 06 Aug, 2023 Published Online: 08 Sep, 2023

http://dx.doi.org/10.46886/IJARBSS/v13-i9/8401
The concept of self-employment through entrepreneurial activities needs to be given attention by all parties, especially in helping to solve problems and challenges related to employment opportunities. Therefore, this study aims to examine the factors that influence the self-employment opportunity through entrepreneurial activities. Based on previous studies, there were four identified factors namely self-efficacy, recognition of opportunities, entrepreneurship education and attitudes towards entrepreneurship. For the purpose of this study, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire instrument and involved a total of 111 respondents consisting of year one to year three students from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. The data of this study was analysed using SPSS version 27 software which involved descriptive analysis, correlation and multiple regression. The findings of the study showed that the factors of self-efficacy and attitude towards entrepreneurship had an established and significant relationship with the intention to be self-employed while opportunity recognition and entrepreneurship education had a moderately strong relationship with intention to be self-employed. The findings also revealed that only two critical factors, namely self-efficacy and attitude towards entrepreneurship had a significant relationship with the self-employment intention while the other two variables; opportunity recognition and entrepreneurship education did not contribute to the intention to be self-employed. Based on the findings of the study, there is a need to improve the entrepreneurship education system and the exposure on opportunities in entrepreneurial activities that should be strengthened so that students can obtain benefits and knowledge regarding the concept of self-employment through entrepreneurial activities.

Anh Do. (1999). Empirical Studies of Self- Employment. Journal of Economic Surveys, 13(4).
Anwar, I., Saleem, I., Islam, K. M. B., Thoudam, Pr., & Khan, R. (2020). Entrepreneurial intention among female university students?: examining the moderating role of entrepreneurial education. International Business and Entrepreneurship Development, 12(4), 217–234.
Baral, R., & Bhargava, S. (2011). HR interventions for work-life balance?: evidences from organisations in India. International Journal of Business, Management and Social Sciences, 2(1), 33–42.
Blanchflower, D. (2004). Self-Employment: More may not be better. Climate Change 2013 - The Physical Science Basis, (February), 1–30.
Blundell, J., & Machin, S. (2020). Self-employment in the Covid-19 crisis. A CEP Covid-19 Analysis, (003).
Bregger, J. E. (1996). Measuring Self-Employment in the United States. Monthly Labor Review, (January/ February 1996), 3–9.
Burchell, B., Coutts, A., Hall, E., & Pye, N. (2015). Self-employment programmes for young people?: a review of the context, policies and evidence. ILO Working Papers, (198). Retrieved from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ilo/ilowps/994898993402676.html
Carroll, G. R., & Mosakowski, E. (1987). The Career Dynamics of Self-Employment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 32(4), 570–589.
Chen, Y., & He, Y. (2011). The impact of strong ties on entrepreneurial intention. Journal of Chinese Entrepreneurship, 3(2), 147–158. https://doi.org/10.1108/17561391111144573
Climent-Rodriguez, J. A., Navarro-Abal, Y., Sánchez-López, C., Galán-García, A., & Gómez-Salgado, J. (2020). The relationship between self-employed workers’ entrepreneurial attitude and health status. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17061892
Do Paco, A., Ferreira, J., Raposo, M., Rodrigues, R. G., & Dinis, A. (2011). Entrepreneurial intention among secondary students: Findings from Portugal. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 13(1), 92–106. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJESB.2011.040418
Dvouletý, O. (2018). Determinants of Self-Employment with and Without Employees: Empirical Findings from Europe. International Review of Entrepreneurship, 16(3), 405–426.
Fairlie, R. W., & Meyer, B. D. (2000). Trends in self-employment among white and black men During the twentieth century. Journal of Human Resources, 35(4), 643–669.
Faloye, D. O., & Olatunji, O. D. (2018). Entrepreneurship Education and Self-employment Intentions among Fresh Graduates in Nigeria. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 9(12), 146–158.
Filser, M., Tiberius, V., Kraus, S., Zeitlhofer, T., Kailer, N., & Müller, A. (2020). Opportunity Recognition: Conversational Foundations and Pathways Ahead. Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 11–26.
Gindling, T. H., & Newhouse, D. (2014). Self-Employment in the Developing World. World Development, 56, 313–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.03.003
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate Data Analysis.pdf (7th Edition). United Kingdom: Pearson Education.
Halawany, H. S. (2014). Career Motivations, Perceptions of the Future of Dentistry and Preferred Dental Specialties Among Saudi Dental Students. The Open Dentistry Journal, 8(1), 129–135.
Hassan, A., Saleem, I., Anwar, I., & Hussain, S. A. (2020). Entrepreneurial intention of Indian university students: the role of opportunity recognition and entrepreneurship education. Education and Training, 62(7–8), 843–861.
Healy, G., Rainnie, A., & Telford, J. (2004). Policy and practice in general print: the workplace reality of national bargaining. Employee Relations, 26(5), 550–566.
Hunter, M. (2013). A Typology Of Entrepreneurial Opportunity. Economics, Management, and Financial Markets, 8(2), 128–166.
ILO. (1990). The promotion of Self-Employment. International Labour Office: Geneva
Koe, W.-L. (2016). The relationship between Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation (IEO) and entrepreneurial intention. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 6(1).
Kotey, B. A. (2017). Flexible working arrangements and strategic positions in SMEs. Personnel Review, 46(2), 355–370.
Laing, D. (2011). Self-employment Why do it?? The Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS). `: The Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS).
Lee-Ross, D. (2017). An examination of the entrepreneurial intent of MBA students in Australia using the entrepreneurial intention questionnaire. Journal of Management Development, 36(9), 1180–1190. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmd-10-2016-0200
Linan, F. (2005). Development and Validation of an Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire (EIQ). Fostering Entrepreneurship Through Education. Intent Conference (15), 1–14.
Lucky, E. O., & Minai, M. S. (2012). Re-investigating the effect of individual determinant , external factor and firm characteristics on small firm performance during economic downturn. African Journal of Business Management, 6(1), 229–237.
Moy, J. W., & Lee, S. M. (2002). The career choice of business graduates: SMEs or MNCs? Career Development International, 7(6), 339–347.
Nguyen, C. (2018). Demographic factors, family background and prior self-employment on entrepreneurial intention - Vietnamese business students are different: why? Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 8(1).
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (Third edit). New York: McGraw Hill.
Ozgen, E., & Baron, R. A. (2007). Social sources of information in opportunity recognition: effects of mentors, industry networks, and professional forums, Journal of Business Venturing, 22(2), 174-192
Pallant, J. (2010). SPSS: Survival Manual, a step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS (4th edition). England: McGraw-Hill.
Pretheeba, P. (2014). Predicting Entrepreneurial Intention among business and engineering student in Sri Lanka. Ruhuna Journal of Management and Finance, 1(1), 25–36.
Rippa, P., Ferruzzi, G., Holienka, M., Capaldo, G., & Coduras, A. (2020). What drives university engineering students to become entrepreneurs? Finding different recipes using a configuration approach. Journal of Small Business Management.
Tkachev, A., & Kolvereid, L. (1999). Self-employment intentions among russian students. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 11(3), 269–280.
Wan, L. (2017). Literature Review about the Influence Factors of Self-Employment. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 07(02), 79–92.
Yurtkoru, E. S., Ku?cu, Z. K., & Do?anay, A. (2014). Exploring the Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Intention on Turkish University Students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 150, 841–850.
Zakaria, S. N., Kee Mohd Yussof, S. K. Y., Ibrahim, D., & Tibok, R. P. (2020). Career after graduation: Future graduates’ perceptions of job attributes in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and multi- national corporations (MNCs). E-Bangi, 17(6), 252–264.
Zampetakis, L. A., Gotsi, M., Andriopoulos, C., & Moustakis, V. (2011). Creativity and Entrepreneurial Intention in Young People. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 12(3), 189–199.
Zikmund, W. G. (2000). Business Research Methods. Orlando: The Dryden Press.