The effect of entrepreneurial characteristics on attitude and intention: an empirical study among technical undergraduates

Abstract

Purpose – Unemployment is the biggest issue for all the developing countries, especially India, where millions of educated people are passed out every year from different educational institutes, but against this, the jobs are not being generated. This situation will only be addressed effectively when the government/authorities make more efforts to identify/create potential entrepreneurs. The present study investigates the relationship of entrepreneurial characteristics on entrepreneurial attitude and intention among engineering undergraduates engaged in various technical institutions in Chhattisgarh state. Design/methodology/approach – Stratified random sampling was used to collect sample of 1,000 engineering undergraduates enrolled in third and fourth year at different technical institutions of Chhattisgarh state. Findings – Structural equation modelling and hierarchal multiple regression analysis were incorporated, and the analysis revealed that the entrepreneurial characteristic was found to be a significant predictor of entrepreneurial attitude and intention of engineering undergraduates. The study also discusses managerial implications, limitations and avenues for future research. Originality/value – Looking at the current scenario, the present study discusses with several factors influencing entrepreneurial attitude and intention of engineering undergraduates, which might be the only solution to a significant issue, i.e. unemployment. In addition, there is a huge lack of research in addressing unemployment issue through entrepreneurship in the state of Chhattisgarh.

Keywords

• Unemployment
• Entrepreneurial characteristics
• Entrepreneurial attitude
• Entrepreneurial intention
• Engineering students