Freshmen Students’ Entrepreneurial intentions in the College of Economics and Administrative Sciences (CEAS) at Al-Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) Choukir Jamel, Aloulou Wassim, Ayadi Faouzi, Mseddi Slim, Subaie Falah CEAS, Al Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, KSA
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Abstract: This research aims to answer the following questions “Who are the more entrepreneurial among CEAS's freshmen students? What are the main antecedents of Freshmen students’ entrepreneurial intention?”. This explanatory research treats the freshman students' entrepreneurial intention through extended Theory of Planned Behaviour. It investigates the main factors determining entrepreneurial intention of 2778 freshmen students through an empirical questionnaire. This research contributes empirically to highlight students’ entrepreneurial intention, and to test extended the TPB model. The research findings illustrate that the TPB is an accepted and validated tool to predict entrepreneurial intentions of Saudi Freshmen Students. They provide strong support for the TPB antecedents as contributors to the explanation of intentions. These findings support the idea that the control variables influence indirectly the TPB antecedents to the explanation of entrepreneurial intentions. The main results show many interesting and significant relationship between students' entrepreneurial intention and social norms, and between career choice intention and gender. Furthermore, our findings suggest a Saudi entrepreneurial undergraduate student profile. They reveal that the entrepreneurship socialization in Saudi context operated more and more throughout relatives and friends for both male and female students called by sociologist’s agents of socialization. These findings allowed to compare CEAS students' entrepreneurial intention to the international standard such as GUESSS. Keywords: Entrepreneurial Intention, Freshmen Students, Theory of Planned Behaviour, IMSIU, GUESSS.
1. Introduction According to many recent studies and reports (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor – GEM – Reports, 2009-2010, Saudi McKinsey Report, 2015; Porter Saudi Report, 2012) the most indicators regarding to entrepreneurial activity in Kingdom Saudi Arabia (KSA) are positive and higher than the international average, excepted entrepreneurial effecCve acCon (the percent of people between 18-64 who desire to become an entrepreneur) which are under the international standard despite the availability of opportunities and resources. The Saudi entrepreneurial environment seemed favourable but tangible actions still are timid. Based on this evidence, the idea to explore entrepreneurial intention from student perspective emerged. This research issue is related to an institutional entrepreneurial project namely “Unleashing your potential for entrepreneurship” that responds to the national reform plan “Saudi Arabia 2030 vision” and focuses on human resources considered as the main mechanism for development. The research tries to answer to the following questions “Which are the main antecedents that determine freshmen students entrepreneurial Intention”; “Do the students enrolled in the college are entrepreneurial in their mindsets?” The objective of the research is to determine the College of Economics and Administrative Sciences (CEAS) freshman students’ entrepreneurial profile. In a new context more and more competitive, the university should equip students with more than knowledge but skills and behaviours (European Commission, 2013). According to many studies (Garavan et al., 1999; Gardner, 2008), the university, parCcular business school, performance could not have measured only through undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate outcomes, or research outcomes but also by shaping students with entrepreneurial mindsets and creating jobs, and start-ups. In this particular context characterised by uncertainty and complexity, the success of student’s career depends on ability to acquire knowledge, skills and behaviour.
