Entrepreneurial intent of business students: Empirical evidence from a transitional economy

Abstract

This study, built upon the theory of planned behavior, examines the ability of attitude, social norms, perceived behavioral control, and proactive personality in predicting entrepreneurial intent of business students in Vietnam, a transitional economy. Using a cross-sectional data set from a sample of 396 business students, this study reveals that attitude and social norms toward entrepreneurship and proactive personality significantly influence the entrepreneurial intent of business students, whereas perceived behavioral control toward entrepreneurship does not. These findings suggest that if business students in Vietnam lack confidence in their ability to start new businesses, they should be trained/educated in developing soft-skills rather than focusing only on textbook knowledge.

Keywords

• entrepreneurial intent
• theory of planned behavior
• proactive personality