PART 2 : GENERAL

 

Assessment of entrepreneurial awareness as a factor of attitude of final year undergraduate students' choice of entrepreneurship as a career option

 

 

T. R. Netshilinganedza^I; J. Mudau^II; J. Francis^III

^IUniversity of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa; Department of Business Management
^IIUniversity of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa; UNIVEN Innovative Growth Company (UIGC)
^IIIUniversity of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa; Institute for Rural Development; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8733-8009

 

 

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ABSTRACT

A study that was designed to assess entrepreneurial awareness of final year undergraduate students as a factor of their attitude towards adopting entrepreneurship as a career choice was conducted at a rural area-based university in Limpopo Province of South Africa. A survey questionnaire was administered to 310 final year students registered for various degrees in the eight schools that constituted the university. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Crosstabulation, correlation analysis and Mann Whitney tests were carried out using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. Entrepreneurial awareness among the students marginally influenced their attitudes towards a career in entrepreneurship. Overall, male and female students held similar views with respect to the influence of awareness of entrepreneurship among final year undergraduate students on their attitude towards self-employment (P > 0.05). It was recommended that management and policy interventions that created enabling conditions for nurturing students to become entrepreneurs should be adopted. Among the recommended interventions was the integration of entrepreneurship education into curricula, irrespective of areas of specialisation. This would equip the students with knowledge and develop positive attitude towards venturing into entrepreneurship.

Keywords: attitude, awareness of entrepreneurship, choice of career, employment, rural area-based university, undergraduate students

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INTRODUCTION

Throughout the world, South Africa included, entrepreneurship is recognised as crucial for reducing poverty and unemployment rates. This is particularly so amongst the youth. Bignotti (2013, 2) contends that entrepreneurship is a viable career opportunity for young people who constitute at least 12 per cent of the total number of the unemployed in the world at present. Kareem (2015, 2) reinforces this argument, reporting that entrepreneurship promotes economic prosperity via reducing unemployment rates, creating jobs, and anchoring regional economic growth and development. Afriyie and Boohene (2014, 309) note the centrality of entrepreneurship in reducing unemployment rates among graduates. In support of this view, Sharma and Madan (2014, 70) extend this argument, pointing out that it empowers young people through venture creation. In the current study, the underlying argument was that university undergraduate students should be nurtured such that they choose to be entrepreneurs rather than pursuing seemingly elusive jobs. The principal proposition is for universities to provide training opportunities in entrepreneurship, particularly aiming to enhance students' knowledge and awareness of it. Accompanying this is the need to facilitate processes that equip the students with requisite skills and nurture entrepreneurial attitudes in them. This helps improve their employability whilst simultaneously increasing the likelihood of producing entrepreneurs among them. Taking the preceding contentions into account, the current study was conducted to assess the influence of awareness of entrepreneurship on the attitudes that final year undergraduate students at a rural area-based university in Limpopo Province held towards choosing a career as business persons.

 

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The current study was premised on the argument that entrepreneurship could be a viable option as a career choice for youth throughout the world. In South Africa, numerous government department and tertiary institutions' efforts made to promote entrepreneurship among university students as an alternative to seeking employment, have failed to yield positive results (Wang and Chugh 2014; Chua and Bedford 2016). Studies that Ariff et al. (2010) carried out in Malaysia revealed that graduates preferred to become employees more than establishing their own business ventures. Thus, the key research questions that guided the current study were: (1) What influence does awareness of entrepreneurship have on the attitudes of undergraduate students with respect to self-employment as an alternative to seeking a job? (2) Does gender influence the perception of entrepreneurial awareness as a determinant of attitudes of students regarding opting to be self-employed entrepreneurs and employers?

 

THE CONTEXT OF THE UNIVERSITY

The study was conducted at a university located in a historically marginalised rural area of Limpopo Province in South Africa. About 14 500 were registered for studies in the Schools of Agriculture, Environmental Sciences, Human and Social Sciences, Education, Health Sciences, Management Sciences, Law, and Mathematical and Natural Sciences. The students were mainly drawn from rural areas where smallholder farming was a major source of livelihoods. The Schools of the university offered a wide range of programmes including certificate, diploma, and undergraduate and postgraduate degree qualifications. In its strategic plan 2021-2025, the university spells out that it strives to become an entrepreneurial higher education institution that is student-centred as it strives to enhance the employability of its graduates and their ability to create jobs for themselves and others. This highlights the importance of entrepreneurship as a pillar of the university's efforts to produce locally relevant and globally competitive graduates who have impact in society.

When the study was conducted, some students at the university were involved in extracurricular activities that were entrepreneurial. Most notable was that the majority of the students were members of Enactus. The latter is an international non-profit student organisation that helps promote student-led local business development in grassroots communities. Tshikovhi and Shambare (2015, 152) reveal that the work of Enactus entails encouraging students to identify and design creative solutions to socio-economic challenges within their communities. As they impart entrepreneurial knowledge and skills to local businesses, members of Enactus acquire critical skills and practical experience that their formal academic programmes do not offer. Only the Schools of Agriculture and Management Sciences formally taught entrepreneurship. However, the modules did not include hands on, practical work/experience. Thus, it can be argued that most students in the university were likely to lack the skills, attitudes and behaviour required to start, develop and grow businesses. Given this situation, it is not surprising that Tshikovhi and Shambare (2015, 157) contend that personal attitude and entrepreneurial knowledge are the most important in shaping entrepreneurial behaviour.

 

LITERATURE REVIEW

Building an understanding of the nexus between gender and entrepreneurship is important because of its potential to provide insights that might inform how to promote development of sustainable businesses. In the sections below, the global context relating to awareness and development of entrepreneurship is articulated. First, the gender-entrepreneurship nexus is articulated.

The gender-entrepreneurship nexus

Empirical studies on the effects of gender on entrepreneurship education have been yielding contrasting results (Van Ewijk and Belghiti-Mahut 2019, 77). Some studies (Abirami and Kumar 2014, 10; Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2018) have revealed that the proportion of female entrepreneurs is much lower compared to males. Van Ewijk and Belghiti-Mahut (2019, 86) presume that this emanates from female students having lower entrepreneurial intentions due to culturally embedded gender stereotypes. The stereotypes shape the students' perception of social norms with respect to appropriate career choices such as entrepreneurship. The same scholars are of the view that the preceding observation might influence how students view their entrepreneurial skills. A Majumdar and Varadarajan (2013, 286) study carried out in the United Arab Emirates revealed that gender did not influence the entrepreneurial intentions of students.

Awareness of entrepreneurship encompasses knowledge and skills required for one to become an entrepreneur. Abirami and Kumar (2014, 8) report that in India students with high entrepreneurial skills often venture into business soon after graduating. This observation justifies the need for equipping students with requisite skills and enabling them to be aware and gain practical knowledge on entrepreneurship. Before an individual identifies and develops an entrepreneurship opportunity, he or she must be aware that it exists. In this regard, campaigns, competitions, entrepreneurial education, social networks, and workshops help create awareness. In the current study in Limpopo Province of South Africa, prevailing conditions in the predominantly rural environment compel students to deal with adverse socio-economic circumstances and limited employment opportunities. Therefore, creating and raising awareness of entrepreneurship among students is a strategy that potentially helps reduce poverty, underemployment and unemployment.

A global perspective of awareness of entrepreneurship

The European Commission (2008, 23) contends that exposure to entrepreneurship in universities should extend beyond business studies departments or programmes. In the current study, the intention was to affirm this argument and clarify whether exposure of undergraduate students to training in entrepreneurship across the campus would enhance their awareness of entrepreneurship and develop a positive attitude towards it. After conducting a review of literature on this subject, Raposo and Paco (2011, 454) concluded that entrepreneurship education could create and make students aware of alternative career choices. Effective education in entrepreneurship is expected to equip an individual with relevant skills and knowledge on venture creation. Offering formal education in entrepreneurship affects the attitudes of students and influences them to make informed career choices. The Asian, Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and South African perspectives on these issues are articulated below.

In Malaysia, the government adopted various policies that included the Ninth Malaysia Plan of 2006-2010, mainly to encourage young adults to establish and run their own businesses (Moi, Adeline, and Dyana 2011, 38). Entrepreneurship courses were integrated into curricula of all public universities. Universities were believed to be the most ideal to promote and embed the culture of entrepreneurship within the Malaysian society. Mansor and Othman (2011, 86) explain that entrepreneurship was taught in public universities aiming to build a comprehensive understanding of the concept among students, nurture their interest and awareness in business, and enhance the discovery of opportunities that they could harness. For Sykes and Govender (2015, 58), entrepreneurship education assists young persons to develop relevant attributes and behaviours and skills. By so doing, self-employment would be encouraged and possibly result in graduates establishing their own businesses. Asian literature emphasises "hands on" experience in venture creation and enterprise development as a strategy that might effectively change or strengthen their mindset, behaviour or attitudes towards entrepreneurship.

In the Middle East, Hosseini and Ahmadi (2011) observed that entrepreneurial attitudes of students in Iran indicated that the potential of offering entrepreneurship education in universities leading to enhanced skills starting a business were high. Dogan (2015, 89) examined the factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions of final year undergraduate students in Turkey. He concluded that there was a direct relationship between entrepreneurial intention and education, suggesting that the attitudes, behaviour and skills of students towards self-employment were improved.

Studies conducted in sub-Saharan have confirmed the importance of entrepreneurship education in creating awareness and the desire for self-employment among undergraduate students. Tsegaye (2015, 54) studied the attitudes of students in Ethiopian colleges towards becoming entrepreneurs. He concluded that promoting entrepreneurship education helped develop entrepreneurial skills, attributes and behaviours among the students. Adefokun, Adebor, and Obera (2018, 261) draw a similar conclusion from a study conducted in Nigeria. The scholars argue that if entrepreneurship education is strengthened and effectively implemented using appropriate teaching strategies, produces quality graduates. This fosters job creation, and reduces unemployment and poverty rates. They advocate that conferences, lectures and workshops on entrepreneurship education should be offered to interested adults and students.

In a study in South Africa, Nwokolo (2017, 61) found that entrepreneurship education could help promote the development of an entrepreneurial culture among university graduates. This means that exposing students to entrepreneurship education develops various attributes in students, viz. risk-taking, diligence, innovation, interpersonal skills, confidence, internal locus of control, and being able to set goals. Collectively, these attributes are crucial because they stimulate one's interest in adopting entrepreneurship as a career opportunity postgraduation. The Manuere, Danha, and Majoni (2013, 520) study in Zimbabwe reinforced this through the argument that government, universities and educational planners should stimulate, demystify, and raise awareness of entrepreneurship. They contend further that this develops communities to the levels of readiness required for them to accept entrepreneurship as a viable option regarding reducing unemployment and poverty. The same scholars conclude that it is important the education system to infuse compulsory courses in entrepreneurship starting from primary schooling to ensure sustainable nurturing.

Insights into entrepreneurship within South Africa

Considerable evidence has been distilled in preceding sections regarding the importance of entrepreneurship as a strategy that helps reduce unemployment. This makes it a candidate for addressing unemployment (Radipere 2012, 2), especially among youth such as university graduates. Nicolaides (2011, 1045) stresses the importance of integrating entrepreneurship into higher education institutions' curricula. He bases his argument on the strong relationship that exists between level of education and entrepreneurial activity, which determines the chances of success of a business venture. Acknowledging that most South Africans lack experience of entrepreneurship, Chimucheka (2014, 405) asserts that there is need to educate and equip them with relevant skills and value that enable them to create sustainable jobs.

South Africa introduced various programmes and policies meant to create an environment that enables entrepreneurship to flourish. For instance, the Department of Basic Education's curriculum 2005 programme infused entrepreneurship within Economic and Management Sciences. Moreover, entrepreneurship is embedded in the life skills programmes of the foundation phase (Grades 1 to 3) (North 2002, 26). Even though these strategies exist and should, ideally, lay a solid foundation for entrepreneurial awareness among learners, to date the results have not been satisfactory.

Using the results of their study on entrepreneurial education in tertiary institutions, Amadi-Echedu et al. (2016, 31) recommend various ways that universities can use to develop an entrepreneurial culture among students. Among the curriculum changes are inclusion of entrepreneurship education in all qualifications offered; facilitating exposure of students to workplace training; establishing incubation centres at universities to guide how commercialisation of business ideas and products are actualised; and establishing fora for universities, industry and government to interface. These interventions would inform how knowledge is shared. In the process, students acquire skills and develop positive attitudes for starting and growing new business ventures.

Oni and Mavuyangwa (2019, 6) undertook a study on the intentions of students registered in a historically disadvantaged university in South Africa to pursue entrepreneurship. They recommended that compulsory entrepreneurship courses should be integrated into the curricula of all institutions of higher education. The same scholars are of the view that this would help increase the number of university student-led start-ups.

The ever-increasing unemployment rate among university graduates in South Africa compelled the Department of Higher Education and Training to mount the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme. It is designed to raise awareness of entrepreneurship among students and prepare them to participate in the economy upon graduation (Ncanywa 2019, 7; Maheswari et al. 2022; Anjum et al. 2021). The Universities South Africa outlines the goals of EDHE as (a) Entrepreneurship in Academia, which is anchored on curriculum and scholarship; (b) student/graduate entrepreneurs who create their own businesses; and entrepreneurial universities, which entails developing entrepreneurial culture and ability to generate income. Through this platform, awareness of entrepreneurship as a career option is realised through competitions and associated awards.

 

METHODOLOGY

As already reported, a quantitative study was conducted to assess the influence of entrepreneurial awareness on the attitudes that final year university undergraduate students had towards entrepreneurship as a career choice. The design, sampling procedure, data collection and analysis, and ethical considerations adhered to during the study are articulated below.

Research design

A quantitative survey design in which a questionnaire was used to collect data was adopted. The design was chosen because it is known to be efficient in systematic collection of data from a wide range of educational settings and individuals (Eyisi 2016, 92). It is effective in uncovering the attitudes, desires and opinions relating to becoming entrepreneurs.

Sampling procedures

Out of a population of 3 096 undergraduate students in their final year of study who were registered at the university in the year 2015, 310 were selected following a stratified random sampling procedure. Each one of the eight schools at the rural area-based university where the study was conducted was regarded as a stratum. Within each stratum, a random sample of 10 per cent of the number of final year students was drawn. This was done considering that the

formula for allocating a proportional sample size was ni = n . In this regard, n = sample size, ni = sample size of i^th stratum, hi = population size of the i^th stratum and N = Population size. For instance, the sample size for the School of Management Sciences with 591 final year undergraduate students was calculated as follows: ni = (591/3096) x 310 = 59.

Data collection

A structured questionnaire developed using various sources was administered to the 310 students selected for the study. It comprised 18 closed-ended questions, which the students self-administered. Lecturers from the eight Schools in the university distributed the questionnaires to the selected students when they conducted their lectures. The questionnaires required responses on a 5-point Likert-type scale, extending from 1: strongly disagree to a maximum of 5: strongly agree. Two students registered for Masters and Honours degrees were recruited and served as research assistants. They were thoroughly orientated prior to data collection. Before its use in data collection, the questionnaire was pilot-tested with 20 randomly selected students. Using the results obtained during the pilot study, the questionnaire was revised. However, the data collected during the pilot test were excluded from the final dataset for the study.

Data analysis

Data analysis was carried out using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The Cronbach Alpha technique was used to determine the reliability and consistency of the data collection tool. A coefficient of 0.889 confirmed that the tool was sound. Through gender-based cross-tabulation, frequencies for demographic data and factors that influenced choice of entrepreneurship as a career option were computed. Mean scores and standard deviations for the perceptions of both female and male students were calculated. The Mann Whitney test was conducted to determine whether statistically significant differences in the perceptions of the male and female students. This was determined at the 95 per cent confidence level with the null hypotheses being rejected if P < 0.05.

Ethical considerations

The University of Venda Social Research Ethics Committee approved the study through issuing an ethical clearance certificate (SARDF15/IRD/09/0212). Deans of Schools granted permission to collect data. Informed consent was obtained. Candidate respondents were assured that their participation was voluntary. It was emphasised that they were free to withdraw their participation during the study should they experienced any discomfort or felt unwilling to continue serving as respondents.

 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

All the 310 final year undergraduate students who were sampled to serve as respondents completed the questionnaire. The fact that they were easily accessible and available made it possible to collect the data from them. Moreover, they were highly interested in what the study focused on. Lastly, their lecturers explained the importance of the study and facilitated the completion of the questionnaire.

Biographical details of the respondents

Female students constituted 61 per cent of the randomly selected respondents. More than a third (38%) of the students were pursuing degrees in various fields of the natural sciences. Almost the same proportion of students (36%) were studying towards qualifications in commerce and law. The remainder (26%) were registered for qualifications in the human and social sciences fields. The fact that more female students were registered at the university compared to males explains this observation. Oseifuah et al. (2014, 293) observed a similar trend at the same university over several years. Thus, it is likely that introduction of entrepreneurship education has the potential to nurture and yield more female entrepreneurs than males out of the student population.

Almost three-quarters (72%) of the respondents were 18-24 years old. Those who were 25-29 years old constituted 14 per cent of the total number of respondents. The rest were spread equally between those who were 30-35 and more than 35 years old. Herrington, Kew, and Kew (2014, 43) report that young people in the world who are 18-34 years old are more likely to start new ventures than older persons. Taking this into consideration, students in the university where the current study was conducted were at the prime age for nurturing them to venture into business before or after graduating.

Approximately, 43 per cent of the respondents indicated that they had relatives who were entrepreneurs. They were likely to have knowledge, skills and directly acquired information with the potential to influence their choice of entrepreneurship as a career choice. Studies conducted in the United Kingdom (Tarling, Jones, and Murphy 2016, 745) and in South Africa (Muofhe and Du Toit 2011; Niewenhuizen and Nieman 2019, 13) revealed that growing up in a family in which there were self-employed members considerably influenced one's attitude towards entrepreneurship. In the current study, the observation that there were more students at the university who had never been exposed to or involved in entrepreneurship justifies its infusion into undergraduate curricula.

Entrepreneurial awareness as a factor of choosing entrepreneurship as career option

In Table 1, male and female students' perceptions regarding the factors of entrepreneurial awareness on attitudes towards choice of a career in entrepreneurship for undergraduate students at a university in Limpopo Province of South Africa are presented. They are mainly entrepreneurship focused curriculum and promotion issues. Overall, the main perceived factors in descending order of level of agreement with the prevailing reality at the university were "Make entrepreneurial courses compulsory to stimulate an entrepreneurial spirit on campus", "I am aware that as a student I can be nurtured to become an entrepreneur", "Entrepreneurial or business-related examples are used in lecture rooms", "I know how to start a successful business" and "In the university, students are encouraged to venture into entrepreneurship". The least regarded perceptions were "The university makes available resources that assist students who are entrepreneurial", "The government conducts entrepreneurship campaigns in my residential area" and "I studied entrepreneurship as one of my courses during my studies".

The most popular view among both male and female students was that that compulsory entrepreneurship courses should be introduced across all disciplines. This highlighted a strong positive attitude towards entrepreneurship among the students. Similar views were uncovered in some studies conducted in the past (European Commission 2008, 23; Moi et al. 2011, 38; Manuere et al. 2013, 520). All of them unanimously recommended that the education system should introduce compulsory entrepreneurial courses extending from primary schooling to tertiary education qualifications. This helps develop and strengthen knowledge and skills of students in entrepreneurship, including their attitudes towards self-employment even at the early stages of their lives. As Isah and Garba (2015) contend, graduates with such positive attitudes towards self-employment are likely to be entrepreneurial.

The students believed that the government was not doing enough to create awareness of entrepreneurship among young people. It is expected to use the power and resources at its disposal to help create a conducive environment for entrepreneurs to thrive, availing start-ups for potential entrepreneurs, leading in business incubation, in addition to adopting policies that promote the development of an entrepreneurial culture particularly on university campuses. Shen, Osorio, and Settles (2017, 30) support this view, arguing that to develop entrepreneurship, a government should enact pro-entrepreneurship legislation.

It was noteworthy that most respondents had not taken entrepreneurship modules during periods of schooling and when pursuing tertiary qualifications. Fada et al. (2017) explain entrepreneurship education as that which is offered to nurture positive attitudes, competences and skills that equip an individual with the desired set up and competently manage a business.

Thus, the students who participated in the current study were likely to lack the attributes that could enable them to venture into successful businesses. Some scholars (Muofhe and Du Toit 2011; Agbim, Oriarewo, and Owocho 2013, 38; Rudhumbu et al. 2016, 92; Anjum et al. 2021) confirm that there is a direct relationship between starting a business and entrepreneurship education. Therefore, the results of the current study and available literature support the need for curriculum transformation and review with the aim of infusing entrepreneurship education in the schooling and tertiary education systems to develop an entrepreneurial culture in students.

Overall, the results presented in Table 1 show a marginally high influence of entrepreneurial awareness on students' choice of entrepreneurship as a career option. Some students were aware and had knowledgeable on entrepreneurship. Others lacked the awareness. Presumably, this situation indicates that most of them understood that embarking on entrepreneurship as a career option was important. Past studies on this subject reveal that training in entrepreneurship and access to relevant information or knowledge are of paramount importance in creating awareness of and preparedness to venture into entrepreneurship (Franco, Haase, and Lautenschläger 2010, 274; Raposo and Paso 2011, 454; Uduak and Aniefiok 2011, 176). The marginal positive influence of students' awareness of entrepreneurship in choosing a career reflects their preparedness to venture into it.

Statistically significant differences in perception between female and male students were observed for "In the university, students are encouraged to venture into entrepreneurship" (P < 0.01) and "The university creates on campus opportunities for students to interact with entrepreneurs" (P < 0.05). Female students agreed more with the perceptions than their male counterparts. There were no statistically significant differences between the perceptions of the female and male students (P > 0.05) for the rest of the factors. It was not clear both from the results of the study and available literature why these differences in perception existed. However, Mustafa (2019, 877) reports that male graduates with working experience have higher entrepreneurial intention. It is not clear whether this would be the case with women with working experience. Thus, empirical studies that explore this issue are needed.

 

CONCLUSION

In the current study, it was revealed that entrepreneurial awareness had a marginally high influence on undergraduate students' choice of a career in entrepreneurship. This indicated that entrepreneurial awareness was important in nurturing students such that they explored the possibly of becoming self-employed. Overall, female and male students had similar views on all the entrepreneurial awareness issues regarded as important in influencing their decisions to venture into entrepreneurship. However, it was unclear why female students agreed more than their male counterparts with the perceptions, "In the university, students are encouraged to venture into entrepreneurship" and "The university organises entrepreneurs to address students on the campus".

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

It was clear from the results of the current study that the students wanted entrepreneurship education to be included in their curricula and other university life experience. There is need to explore how this can be offered. In addition to this, results revealed that the university should invest in creating an environment that enables students to pursue self-employment postgraduation.

 

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