University entrepreneurial push strategy and students’ entrepreneurial intention

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Wegner ◽  
Elisa Thomas ◽  
Eduardo Künzel Teixeira ◽  
Alisson Eduardo Maehler

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to question whether the university entrepreneurial push strategy influences the entrepreneurial intention (EI) of its students. Previous research followed multilevel approaches that jointly addressed the impact of individual characteristics, institutional environment, and educational support on EI. Despite these efforts, the extant literature did not consider differences between universities regarding the whole set of activities they perform to foster entrepreneurship among students and their results. Design/methodology/approach Through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) procedures, this study compared data from 447 students of two Brazilian universities that differentiate themselves according to entrepreneurial push strategies (one adopts actions consistent with this type of strategy while the other does not). Whilst University 1 fosters entrepreneurship by investing in entrepreneurship courses, promoting entrepreneurship competitions, and offering incubation opportunities, University 2 primarily focuses on traditional managerial education without a specific focus on entrepreneurial activities. Findings Surprisingly, the results have shown the entrepreneurial push strategy of University 1 does not account for differences in the students’ EI when compared to University 2. Such finding contradicts previous studies on the effects of entrepreneurial education and sheds new lights on the role university’s support plays to foster entrepreneurship intention. Research limitations/implications Contributions to the literature on the field of entrepreneurship intention were made by showing that the efforts toward the promotion of entrepreneurship through entrepreneurship education, business plan competitions, and incubation might not have a direct influence on students’ EI. Practical implications As a practical implication, the study stimulates universities to evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts in promoting entrepreneurship through training, education and support for new ventures. The results also offer policy implications by suggesting that public policies should emphasize the development of institutions that foster a positive business environment, facilitate the creation of new ventures, the funding of start-ups and reinforce the benefits of becoming an entrepreneur. Originality/value The results are surprising because they contradict previous studies of the university’s role in fostering entrepreneurship intention. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first research comparing universities with two different approaches toward developing students’ EI: one university with a whole set of activities and another university without any specific activity with that purpose.

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 593-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fayçal Boukamcha

Purpose – This paper aims to clarify the impact of the entrepreneurial training on a Tunisian trainee’s entrepreneurial cognitions and intention. An interactive cognitive perspective was adopted to test the interaction effect between the entrepreneurial cognitions: the perceived entrepreneurial self-efficacy, the perceived entrepreneurial feasibility and entrepreneurial desirability. A research model was built showing several relationships between entrepreneurial training, cognitions and intention. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 240 participants in four business incubators. The maximum-likelihood test was used as a structural equation modeling method to test the model. Findings – The results show the importance of the entrepreneurial training in the development of entrepreneurial cognitions. Further, the findings, to some extent, validate the interaction between the entrepreneurial cognitive patterns. However, entrepreneurial intention was only predicted through the entrepreneurial desirability. Several implications are discussed at the end of this paper. Practical implications – The findings seem interesting insofar, as they show the importance of entrepreneurial trainings in the entrepreneurial intention development through the enhancement of desirability. This process can be triggered by a training program that contains case studies, success stories and conferences to make the youth enthusiastic about self-employment. Originality/value – The significant impact of the entrepreneurial training on trainees’ cognitions should encourage governments and incubators to promote entrepreneurial training programs to enhance the youths’ willingness to create their own businesses. The findings in this paper seem interesting insofar as they show the importance of entrepreneurial trainings in the entrepreneurial intention development through the enhancement of desirability. This process can be triggered by a training program that contains case studies, success stories and conferences to make the youth enthusiastic about self-employment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 1601-1624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisha Paul Kulangara ◽  
Sherry Avery Jackson ◽  
Edmund Prater

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interrelationship between trust, socialization, and information sharing on the buying firm’s innovation capability in the context of the buyer-supplier relationship (BSR). A nomological model is developed that examines the mediating role of relational capital (supplier trust) on the relationship between structural capital (socialization and information sharing) and innovation capability. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted on 357 US executives. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the hypothesized relationships. Findings Information sharing and formal socialization activities increased the buying firm’s trust in its key supplier. However, formal socialization activities within the context of the business environment did not have a significant direct impact on buyer’s innovative capabilities; but when mediated by trust, it positively impacted innovation capabilities. Informal socialization within the context of the social environment directly impacted innovation capabilities but trust did not mediate the relationship. Information sharing impacted trust and innovation significantly and trust mediated the impact of information sharing on innovation capabilities. Originality/value This study defines the formal and informal aspects of socialization and investigates its impact on trust and buyer innovation capabilities. This is one of the few studies that highlights the mediating role of trust between firms to facilitate innovation capability.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinhua Guan ◽  
Jinhong Gong ◽  
Mingjie Li ◽  
Tzung-Cheng Huan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of the robot restaurant servicescape and robot service competence (RSC) on customers’ behavioral intentions and to analyze the mediating role of hedonic value (HV) and utilitarian value (UV) in these relationships and the moderating role of individual characteristics. Design/methodology/approach This research involves seven constructs to be measured, namely, servicescape, RSC, negative attitude toward robots (NAR), openness to change (OC), HV, UV and behavioral intention. This research selects Foodom robot restaurants, located in Shunde and Guangzhou of China, as the research site, and the research objects are customers having dinner in the restaurant. A total of 485 valid data was collected. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data, verify the proposed research model, and test the research hypotheses. Findings The study finds that servicescape and RSC improve customer behavioral intention. Additionally, HV and UV mediate the influence of servicescape and RSC on customer behavioral intention. Moreover, OC negatively moderates the influence of servicescape on UV and that a NAR negatively moderates the influence of RSC on HV. Originality/value Through carefully design of servicescape and the improvement in service capabilities of robots, the original service delivery dominated by frontline service personnel can be transformed into service delivery dominated by service robots, which is conductive to providing a pleasant and unforgettable experience for customers.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vjollca Hasani ◽  
Jusuf Zeqiri ◽  
Kumrije Gagica ◽  
Kimberly Gleason ◽  
Sadudin Ibraimi

Purpose This paper, in light of the theory of planned behavior, aims to analyze the factors that have an impact on entrepreneurial intentions among students in Kosovo. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire is administered online for data collection, and the analysis is conducted using structural equation modeling. Findings The authors find that in the context of Kosovo, personal attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control significantly impact entrepreneurial intention among students. However, the entrepreneurial education survey respondents received was unrelated to entrepreneurial intention of students in Kosovo. Originality/value The authors contribute to the literature regarding the role of entrepreneurial education on entrepreneurial intention among students and graduates. In addition, the authors provide new evidence regarding the impact of personal attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control on entrepreneurial intention in the context of a transition economy. Finally, the authors offer recommendations to educational institutions and policymakers concerning the appropriate design of entrepreneurial education.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-249
Author(s):  
Anna Bussu ◽  
Claudio Detotto ◽  
Laura Serra

Purpose Research on the association between individual characteristics of undergraduate students, drop-out and delayed graduation is still evolving. Therefore, further evidence is required. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on an empirical study examining the relationship between students’ individual characteristics and delayed graduation. The analysis is based on a sample of 1,167 students who have registered on and have completed a full-time undergraduate programme in Italy. Using a Probit model, the findings document the individual, background and environmental indicators that play a role in explaining delayed graduation. Findings The study observes that students who commute to university perform better than those residing on campus. Other factors increasing the probability of completing the undergraduate programme on time include individual characteristics (e.g. gender and age), student background (family income, education), institutional environment (teaching and research quality) and student satisfaction. Finally, some policy implications are discussed. Social implications A direct policy implication of these findings is that supporting academic staff in order to enhance their performance in both research and teaching has a positive effect on the performance of the students. Originality/value This paper contributes to the debate on the impact of institutional quality on students’ performance, aiming to address the question of balance between teaching and research orientation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 3951-3985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surajit Bag ◽  
Shivam Gupta ◽  
Arnesh Telukdarie

PurposeThe alignment of procurement strategy with overall business strategy is important for superior firm performance. It is also essential for firms’ purchasing structure to fit the purchasing strategy whether it is cost reduction; value analysis and/or improving delivery and increasing flexibility for achieving superior purchasing performance. The purpose of this paper is to scientifically examine the influence of organization culture (OC), green supplier development (GSD), supplier relationship management, flexibility and innovation on sustainability in supply network (SSN) under the moderation effect of institutional pressures and resources availability.Design/methodology/approachThe study is grounded by integrating institutional theory (IT) and resource-based view (RBV) theory. The study empirically tests the conceptual model through survey data gathered from 175 respondents in the KwaZulu-Natal province of Southern Africa using structural equation modeling which is a multivariate data analysis technique that permits to simultaneously examine many relationships among manifest and latent variables.FindingsIt was found that OC plays a crucial role in shaping the workforce behavior and responsible for enhancing GSDs and building good relationship with suppliers which ultimately results into increased flexibility and innovativeness. Coercive pressures (CPs) play a moderating role between the causal relationship of innovation and SSN. Therefore, CPs have got the ability to amplify or reverse the effect between innovation and SSNs.Research limitations/implicationsThe study suffers from few limitations. First, the study is restricted to one particular province in South Africa. Second, cross-sectional data were used for testing of model in the research study.Practical implicationsThe findings are of great importance for both the researchers and supply chain practitioners. Supply chain practitioners may use this knowledge for benchmarking the supply network configuration process and continuously improve the process. The tested model actually shows the mechanism for enhancing SSNs. In today’s dynamic and uncertain business environment, all firms in the supply network aims to minimize risks and maximize profitability. The findings show that CPs play a moderating effect on the relationship between innovation and SSN. Whenever government authorities and institutions pressurize firms for minimizing pollution levels, we see a trend of increased innovations in the form of new product developments, usage of eco-friendly raw material and application of eco-friendly technology which ultimately minimizes the carbon footprint. Through such initiatives steel and engineering firms conform to the government norms and regulations. However, innovations are possible through collaboration with specialist suppliers and sub-suppliers by adopting a common standard across the supply network. Through this overall process of innovation, the focal firm and sub-suppliers linked in the network will benefit and ultimately achieve a competitive edge. Therefore, firms can experience multiple benefits in terms of lower development costs, lower project cycle completion time, improvement in design for re-manufacturability, low downtime, low supply risks, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and, ultimately, sustainable development.Originality/valueThe study is unique from dual perspective – both in terms of scope and contribution to supply chain management literature. First, the study integrates flexibility and innovation to study the impact on SSNs. Second, it integrates both IT and RBV theory of firm to test the moderation effect and the findings further opens up window for future research.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roya Molaei ◽  
Mohammad Reza Zali ◽  
Mohhammad Hasan Mobaraki ◽  
Jahngir Yadollahi Farsi

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial idea dimensions (the value, content, number and novelty of idea) along with intuitive cognitive style versus an analytical style on students' entrepreneurial intention. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate these relationships, the data are obtained from an extensive survey of 376 undergraduate students of campuses of Behavioral Sciences and Engineering at University of Teheran. The data are analyzed by the methodology of structural equation modeling (SEM) with using LISREL software and SPSS. Findings – According to the SEM results, for students with intuitive cognitive style, among the four dimensions of entrepreneurial idea (i.e. idea's content, volume, value, and novelty), the greatest direct effect belongs to the idea volume and idea content. Further, for the students with analytical cognitive style, the idea volume and the idea value have the maximum direct impacts on their entrepreneurial intention meanwhile the least direct effect belongs to the idea novelty. In general, entrepreneurial intention of the students, in both groups of intuitive and analytical cognitive styles, is highly influenced by the volume of their entrepreneurial ideas. Therefore, the ideas volume is the most important factor to start up a new business in future by potential entrepreneurs all with analytical or intuitive cognitive styles. Practical implications – It is recommended that entrepreneurship and business students who are attending entrepreneurship and business skills training courses should be categorized into two distinct groups of intuitive and analytical. For the group of students with intuitive cognitive style, an entrepreneurship training with systematic views and a method of establishing and reinforcing positive and stable emotions should be offered. For those with analytical cognitive style, trainings for “designing and writing Business Model and Plan”, “Opportunity recognition and feasibility study” and its related soft wares should be presented. Accordingly, in order to create and increase the entrepreneurial ideas number among all students, it is suggested that a course entitled “Entrepreneurial Idea Generation” be offered in Entrepreneurship Education Programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. Originality/value – The paper is one of the first papers to clarify and empirically assess the effects of entrepreneurial ideas dimensions on entrepreneurial intention considering the subjects' cognitive style as a mediating variable.


2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 1022-1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chyan Yang ◽  
Hsian‐Ming Liu

PurposeDrawing on a network perspective on enterprise agility, the purpose of this paper is to explore whether firms with superior network structure not only may be better able to generate direct effect on firm performance, but whether a superior network structure may also help firms to create better firm agility and thus enhance their performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a survey method and data were collected from 250 companies in Taiwan's glass industry. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) technology, it specified the measurement properties of survey instrument such as reliabilities and validities and then identified causal relation among latent constructs to examine causal effects of hypotheses testing.FindingsThe results show that a firm's agility capability and its network structure are a critical competitive strategy source of firm performance. Moreover, network structure also partially mediates the impact of enterprise agility on firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsBecause the data were collected from a single industry and firm performance is evaluated by subjective managerial assessments, further research may be necessary by using the data involving multiple industries with objective performance indices for more meaningful and generalized results.Practical implicationsThe findings confirm the importance of enterprise agility for contemporary firms in today's dynamic business environment. By reinforcing enterprise agility, firms could react better to unpredictable changes. In addition, firms also are suggested to put more effort into developing and maintaining their network structures, both as repositories of external resources and as boosters of enterprise agility.Originality/valueThe paper provides evidence regarding the impact of enterprise agility and network structure on firm performance.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios P. Kafetzopoulos ◽  
Evangelos L. Psomas ◽  
Katerina D. Gotzamani

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide additional evidence of the impact of ISO 9001 effectiveness on three dimensions of a firm’s performance, namely product quality, operational performance and business performance. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis includes an initial exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM), in order to investigate the relations between the constructs of the proposed model. A sample of 287 ISO 9001 certified Greek manufacturing firms is used for this purpose. Findings – According to the study findings, ISO 9001 effectiveness directly contributes to product quality and operational performance. Although it has no direct impact on manufacturing firms’ business performance, it has an indirect impact through the moderator of operational performance. Research limitations/implications – The sample of the responding manufacturing companies is limited to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from one country (Greece). In addition, the effects of the internal business environment and endogenous business factors have not been assessed through the present study. Practical implications – The study offers clear implications for managers who focus on elements that will increase the ISO 9001 effectiveness and desire to choose strategies, allocate resources and improve their firm’s performance. Originality/value – The present study contributes to the literature gap aiming at examining the degree to which ISO 9001 effectiveness influences the performance of certified firms. The concept of “ISO 9001 effectiveness” is introduced as the extent to which its prescribed quality objectives are met.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 553-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhao ◽  
Ha-Brookshire Jung

Purpose Grounded in Barney’s (1991) resource-based view of the firm and social network theory, and utilizing the Big Five factors as outlined by McCrae and Costa (1997), the purpose of this paper is to investigate how founders’ personality traits impact the quality of a firm’s network relationships, its competitive advantages, and the performance of Chinese apparel new ventures. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted, employing a purposive sampling technique. Founders or members of a founding team currently operating a business in the apparel industry in China who have been in business for five years or less were chosen for this study. The survey yielded 210 usable responses, which were used for further data analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was first conducted to find a better model for the measurement of each latent variable. Structural equation modeling in AMOS 24 was then used to test the study’s hypothesized model. Findings The most notable finding was that three of the personality traits studied – openness to experience, agreeableness, and emotional stability – had statistically significant influences on the quality of firms’ relationships with supply-chain partners, but for the traits of extraversion and conscientiousness no influence was found. Further, perceived quality of firms’ network relationships helped enhance competitive advantages and firm performance. The findings identified unique personality traits that founders must possess for successful network relationships and are critical for the performance of Chinese apparel new ventures. Originality/value This is one of a few studies that simultaneously evaluate the impact of the personality traits of founders and the network resources of firms on the performance of new ventures in China. Its findings may help those who are interested in starting new ventures in the Chinese apparel industry to manage the external network relationships that are critical for new venture success. Supply-chain partners could also utilize these findings to create appropriate strategies for improving relationships with Chinese apparel new ventures to cope with the critical business challenges of globalization and collaboration.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document