Impact of Social Identities and Business Education on Entrepreneurial Intent of Students: A Proposed Outer Model Evaluation

Abstract

Entrepreneurship as an integral part of business education, emerges to be a handy solution for employment growth. However, it is critical to know the potential factors of motivation to enhance self-employment future designs of business students. This study explores the influence of students’ social identities and participation in business education at their entrepreneurial intent. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from around 300 final year students of various business schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Statistical results show evidence of the validity of the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991, 2002) in explaining entrepreneurial intent. Findings confirm the importance of student’s identities, as measured with dynamic-self and risk-taking self, in the entrepreneurial intent framework. A substantial relationship has been identified for participation in business education with entrepreneurial intent if combined with social identities’ dimension of in-group and normative effect. Although it cannot be claimed that business education influences a student’s self-employment intent for future, it possesses strong appeal for student with certain person and social identities. Universities should take measures to improve the image of entrepreneurship as a career choice by evolving a policy of inducting students with most promising identities. Furthermore, faculty having extensive academic and practical experience can help to create entrepreneurial atmosphere by identifying students with right personality. Further research is needed to probe the questions regarding intervening identities and mold them into more enterprising personalities.