Entrepreneurial Intention and Startup Preparation: A Study Among Business Students in Malaysia
Entrepreneurial Intention and Startup Preparation: A Study Among Business Students in Malaysia
Entrepreneurial Intention and Startup Preparation: A Study Among Business Students in Malaysia
To cite this article: Abdullah Al Mamun, Noorshella Binti Che Nawi, Muhammad Mohiuddin, Siti
Farhah Fazira Binti Shamsudin & Syed Ali Fazal (2017) Entrepreneurial intention and startup
preparation: A study among business students in Malaysia, Journal of Education for Business, 92:6,
296-314, DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2017.1365682
ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Intention, as the starting point of pursuing self-employment and creating new ventures, is crucial Entrepreneurial intention;
before actually establishing a business enterprise. Entrepreneurship is understood to be an essential startup preparation; theory
ingredient for enhancing a country’s economic competitiveness, growth, and sustainability while of planned behavior
confronting the escalating challenges of globalization, such as increasing unemployment. This
study provides empirical evidence on the factors influencing entrepreneurial intention and startup
preparations among university students in Malaysia. The findings provide scholars and academic
policymakers with insights into the effectiveness of Malaysia’s entrepreneurial education as
designed and practiced by public universities. The Malaysian government should apply these
findings to fortify existing policies and programs and formulate new ones to support graduate
entrepreneurs, while universities and other higher education institutions should provide high-
quality entrepreneurial courses and programs to young Malaysians to foster an inclination toward
entrepreneurship.
Introduction
economic downturn (United Nations Development Pro-
Entrepreneurship, the range of activities associated with gramme, 2012), the significance of entrepreneurship
owning and managing businesses, has been known to be education lies in its ability to positively affect employ-
one of the most powerful economic strategies for quite ability, particularly in terms of job experience, annual
some time (Kuratko, 2005; Nazri, Aroosha, & Omar, income, and creativity (Rasmussen & Sørheim, 2006).
2016). Entrepreneurship has also emerged as one of the Entrepreneurial education is seen to equip students with
most effective approaches for developing a country’s econ- the skills and knowledge required to successfully operate
omy and sustaining its competitiveness while businesses and seize entrepreneurial opportunities (Keat
confronting the escalating threats of globalization (Keat, et al., 2011). According to recent research, the role of
Selvarajah, & Meyer, 2011). Most economic scholars universities in promoting entrepreneurship by imple-
acknowledge entrepreneurship as the most crucial factor menting entrepreneurial curricula has a significant
for international societal development (Abu-Saifan, 2012). impact on students’ inclination to pursue entrepreneur-
Governments around the world conceive entrepreneurship ship (Mahajar, 2012). Colleges and universities all over
as the key to economic development (Hebert & Link, 2011) the world have introduced entrepreneurial courses in an
and have been keen to provide a supportive environment effort to promote entrepreneurship and professional
that promotes existing enterprises and fosters new ventures entrepreneurial careers (Keat et al., 2011).
(Kirby, 2004). Entrepreneurship has become one of the The fundamentals of quality entrepreneurship educa-
world’s most popular research topics, and its significance tion depend on an understanding of the entrepreneurial
and contribution have caused entrepreneurship courses to competencies that induce entrepreneurial intention (Al
emerge as a popular choice at the college and university Mamun, Nawi, Dewiendren, & Shamsudin, 2016). Inten-
levels (Keat et al., 2011). tions are central to understanding the process of ventur-
In the current situation, where young people are ing into a business and are perceived as the first step in
experiencing difficulties finding decent jobs due to the the startup of an enterprise (Astorga & Martınez, 2014).
CONTACT Abdullah Al Mamun abdullah.a@unk.edu.my Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Locked bag 36, Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu, 16100, Malaysia.
© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS 297
According to Krueger and Carsrud (1993), the process of ambiguous due to a lack of empirical studies (Souitaris,
identifying opportunities is clearly intentional; therefore, Zerbinati, & Al-Laham, 2007). This study attempts to fill
intention emerges as key to understanding the entire this significant gap in the literature by examining the fac-
process of business startups. According to Krueger, tors influencing entrepreneurial intentions and prepara-
Reilly, and Carsrud (2000) and Molaei, Zali, Mobaraki, tions for business startups among business students at
and Farsi (2014), entrepreneurial intention is both the Malaysian universities.
primary and strongest predictor of entrepreneurial
behavior. Moreover, entrepreneurial intention explains
entrepreneurship and the process of becoming entrepre- Literature review
neurial, leading to the formation of new businesses and Theory of planned behavior
job opportunities (Keat et al., 2011). As it is the initiator
of entrepreneurial activities and is shaped through per- In the present study we empirically examined university
sonal competencies, traits, and interactions with the students’ entrepreneurial intentions, which could lead to
environment, entrepreneurial intention must be studied the behavior that creates business startups. As intention
to better understand where the idea to start a business and behavior are the cornerstones of this analysis, we used
originates and how such an idea becomes a reality (Al the theory of planned behavior (TPB), as it is considered
Mamun et al., 2016). one of the best primary theory-driven models for explain-
The research focus has recently shifted to potential ing entrepreneurial intention (Ajzen, 1991). The TPB is
entrepreneurs to address the growing need for more entre- based on the theory of reasoned action, which posits that
preneurs to be actively involved in economic development the intention of individuals can be predicted by their atti-
and help meet market demand and maintain competencies tudes to a certain behavior along with their subjective
in the rapidly changing technological environment. It has norms (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).
become vital to understand the role of entrepreneurial The TPB focuses on the role of intentions and their
competencies and their characteristics and to determine strength in predicting focal behavior, positing that actions
how they affect the entrepreneurial intentions of university are generally guided by attitudes. Subjective norms and
students (Al Mamun et al., 2016; Rasli, Khan, Malekifar, & perceived behavioral control jointly predict intentions,
Jabeen, 2013). Entrepreneurship has been defined as a pro- while intentions predict behavior. According to Ajzen
cess of “becoming” rather than a state of “being,” implying (1991), three kinds of salient belief are the fundamental
the significance of students, the largest pool of potential determinants of an individual’s intentions and actions:
entrepreneurs (Rasli et al., 2013). Entrepreneurial univer- behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs.
sity students are crucial both as backups for current entre- Behavioral belief denotes an individual’s belief regard-
preneurs and as springboards for future employment, ing the likely outcome of a behavior. Normative beliefs
particularly for high-tech industries in developing coun- concern the normative expectations of significant others
tries such as Malaysia (Rasli et al., 2013). that influence an individual’s behavior. Control beliefs
Although numerous studies have shown that entre- concern the presence or absence of factors that may favor
preneurship education plays a crucial role in producing or hamper the performance of a behavior (Ajzen, 1991).
entrepreneurial individuals, studies examining how The TPB suggests that, when attitude and subjective
entrepreneurial intention leads to startup preparations norm are favorable to a certain behavior while the per-
among business students remain scarce (Mahajar, 2012). ceived behavioral control is high, the intention to per-
Moreover, the literature on entrepreneurial intention has form the behavior is strong (Ajzen, 1991). In this study,
neglected students, a large pool of potential entrepreneurs the entrepreneurial intentions of students constitute their
whose entrepreneurial intention must be assessed (Rasli behavioral dimension. Theoretical conceptualization and
et al., 2013), as the recent literature has stressed (Gelard & a review of relevant empirical studies that have employed
Saleh, 2011). Examining students’ entrepreneurial inten- the TPB for similar theoretical needs (e.g., Gelderen
tion is particularly important in the Malaysian context, et al., 2008; Souitaris et al., 2007) suggest that the associa-
where it is important to determine why many of the gov- tion between entrepreneurial intentions and startup
ernment’s entrepreneurship policies and programs have preparations is well explained by the TPB.
failed to popularize entrepreneurship as a career choice
among young graduates (Mohamed, Rezai, Shamsudin, &
Attitude and entrepreneurial intention
Mahmud, 2012; Sandhu, Sidique, & Riaz, 2011). A review
of the relevant literature indicates the need for a deeper Attitude, the first construct of the TPB, can be defined as
exploration of students’ startup preparation, as the rela- an overall evaluation of a specific behavior by an individ-
tionship between students’ intention and behavior remains ual, wherein behavior can be perceived as the degree to
298 A. A. MAMUN ET AL.
which the individual looks unfavorably or favorably continuously innovate to renew the value of their asset
upon the behavior in question (Ajzen, 1991). Attitude endowment (Schumpeter, 1934). Later studies defined
signifies perceptions of personal desirability and involves innovation as the process of starting an enterprise
beliefs and expectations about the personal impacts of (Scheinberg & MacLillan, 1988). Hamidi, Wennberg,
outcomes originating from a certain behavior (Krueger and Berglund (2008) and Armstrong and Hird (2009)
et al., 2000). In terms of entrepreneurship, attitude refers found that innovativeness had a strong impact on
to the individual characteristics that lead people to have entrepreneurial intention, while studies on entrepreneur-
a positive attitude to entrepreneurship in general and ial intention found that innovativeness had a positive
entrepreneurial intention in particular. In this study, two impact on entrepreneurial attitudes (Robinson, Stim-
entrepreneurial traits discussed in the literature—inno- pson, Huefner, & Hunt, 1991). Therefore, this study con-
vativeness and risk-taking propensity—are considered as siders innovativeness as a key factor in attitudes to
the dimensions of the attitude that is expected to affect entrepreneurship among university students in Malaysia.
entrepreneurial intention. The following hypothesis was thus proposed:
Several studies have found that formal entrepreneur-
ship education affects students’ attitude, influences their H1a: Innovativeness has a significantly positive effect
future career direction, and has a significant impact on on attitude to entrepreneurship among university
their entrepreneurial attitude over time (Dinis, Paço, students in Malaysia.
Ferreira, Raposo, & Rodrigues 2013). A recent study Risk-taking propensity and attitude to
found that university students who are exposed to entre- entrepreneurship
preneurship education develop a more positive attitude Risk taking, one of the first entrepreneurial characteris-
to pursuing entrepreneurial careers (Shamsudin, Al tics to be identified (Hyrsky & Tuunanen, 1999), refers
Mamun, Nawi, Nasir, & Zakaria, 2016). Thus, it is logical to the acceptance of risk in any activity with a less than
to conclude that attitude not only affects but, in fact, ini- 100% possibility of success (Kuip & Verheul, 2003). Risk
tiates intention. However, the relationship between atti- propensity is the degree of a person’s tendency to either
tude and intention could be better explained by the TPB, avoid or take risks (Tang & Tang, 2007). Risk-taking
which posits that attitude along with other model con- propensity could be conceived as a person’s inclination
structs influence intention (Ajzen, 1991). Moreover, to take risks in decision-making situations (Shamsudin
empirical studies have revealed that attitude and person- et al., 2016), such as in entrepreneurship. Davidsson
ality traits have the strongest influence on business (1989) suggested that, to an outsider, engaging in
startup intentions among nascent entrepreneurs (Frank, entrepreneurial activities could be seen as taking a risk,
Lueger, & Korunka, 2007; Sesen, 2013). Based on the the- in social, financial, and psychological terms. Risk-taking
ory and the literature, we posited the following propensity is associated with entrepreneurship (Pascoe
hypothesis: & Mortimer, 2014). According to Tang and Tang (2007),
Hypothesis 1 (H1): Attitude to entrepreneurship has a risk-taking propensity is a crucial element in entre-
significantly positive effect on entrepreneurial inten- preneurship. Recent empirical evidence indicates that
tion among university students in Malaysia. risk propensity is the strongest predictor of entrepre-
neurial intentions (Zhao, Seibert, & Lumpkin, 2010).
Although risk-taking propensity has often been cited as
Innovativeness and attitude toward entrepreneurship an antecedent of entrepreneurial attitude and intentions
Innovation could be defined as the act of developing and (Bygrave, 1989), several earlier studies empirically found
implementing new ideas by people involved in transac- contrary results, arguing that entrepreneurs operating
tions with others over a period of time within an institu- small businesses did not display positive attitudes to risk
tional framework (Ven, 1986). Entrepreneurs contribute and did not perceive themselves as risk takers (R. A.
to economic progress through their innovativeness, Baron, 1998; Davidsson, 1989). Based on the literature as
which involves the development of new processes, new a whole, this study perceives risk-taking propensity as a
products, new supply sources, innovative markets exploi- significant determinant of entrepreneurial attitude; how-
tation techniques, and new ways to develop businesses ever, the earlier findings indicate that a deeper examina-
(Santandreu-Mascarell, Garzon, & Knorr, 2013). tion of the construct is necessary. Hence, we proposed
According to Koh (1996), entrepreneurially oriented the following hypothesis:
people display greater innovativeness than do nonentre-
preneurially oriented people. Earlier empirical evidence H1b: Risk-taking propensity has a significantly positive
confirmed the association between entrepreneurship and effect on attitude to entrepreneurship among univer-
innovation, finding that organizations need to sity students in Malaysia.
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS 299
Subjective norms and entrepreneurial intention and obstacles as well as past experiences (Ajzen, 1991).
For this study, four constructs—government support,
The second construct of the TPB, subjective norm, refers
support from family, entrepreneurial development
to the social factors influencing people’s intention to per-
programs, and entrepreneurial education service qual-
form a certain behavior. According to Ajzen (1991), sub-
ity—have been conceptualized as dimensions of
jective norms reflect the perceived social pressure upon
perceived behavioral control that are expected to affect
an individual to perform or not perform a certain behav-
entrepreneurial intention. Perceived behavioral control
ior. Subjective norms usually originate from peer pres-
is quite similar to the dimension of self-efficacy. It
sure, friends, or family, requiring individuals to comply
denotes people’s perceptions of their capabilities to per-
with certain specified norms. The underlying determi-
form a specific behavior (Bandura, 1986; Ajzen, 1987).
nants of subjective norms are established through nor-
According to Boyd and Vozikis (1994), self-efficacy is a
mative beliefs associated with the possibility that
crucial construct for determining the strength of both
significant referent groups or individuals will support or
entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial behav-
oppose a particular behavior (Veciana, Aponte, &
iors. As control beliefs provide the basis for perceptions
Urbano, 2005). The opinions of significant people in an
of behavioral control, they serve as preconceived
individual’s life influencing him or her to perform a par-
notions about the existence or nonexistence of required
ticular behavior promote a “perceived social pressure”
resources and opportunities (Ajzen, 1987).
(Ajzen, 1991) that may improve or restrain a particular
Where intentions reflect the willingness to pursue a
behavior.
specific behavior, perceived control takes account of the
In terms of entrepreneurship, subjective norms could
possible limitations and constraints (Boyd & Vozikis,
be understood as perceptions of what significant people
1994). Individuals who believe they possess adequate
in an individual’s life think about his or her becoming an
opportunities and resources and anticipate few impedi-
entrepreneur, conditioned by the strength of his/her
ments or obstacles should have greater perceived control
motivation to comply with such perceptions (Krueger
over their behavior (Ajzen, 1991). In terms of entre-
et al., 2000). If significant people such as family and
preneurship, Kolvereid (1996) argued that behavioral
friends perceive entrepreneurship as too risky, individu-
control reflected the perceived ability of individuals to
als are less likely to engage in entrepreneurial behavior,
emerge as entrepreneurs. Regarding entrepreneurial
and vice versa. Empirically, this relationship was con-
intentions, Krueger (1993) asserted that the perceived
firmed in a study on young Australians, which found
feasibility (the degree to which an individual feels
that attitudes to entrepreneurship and the decision to
capable) of successfully initiating a business acts as a sig-
initiate a business venture were significantly influenced
nificant antecedent of the formation of entrepreneurial
by referent groups such as friends (Keat et al., 2011).
intention. Therefore, based on the theory and the litera-
Concerning entrepreneurial education programs, the
ture, we acknowledge perceived behavioral control as a
research has found that the influence of subjective norms
key factor in entrepreneurial intention and hypothesizes
on entrepreneurial intention is greater for students who
the following to replicate and confirm earlier studies:
have been exposed to entrepreneurial courses (Souitaris
et al., 2007). Although early studies based on the TPB H3: Perceived behavioral control has a significantly
widely acknowledged subjective norms as a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial intention among
predictor of intention, a few studies failed to find any sig- university students in Malaysia.
nificant association between subjective norms and inten-
tions (Krueger et al., 2000). Hence, we formulated the
Government support and perceived behavioral control
following hypothesis to replicate and confirm earlier
As mentioned, perceived behavioral control refers to the
studies:
perceived difficulty or ease of performing a certain
H2: Subjective norms have a significantly positive behavior (Ajzen, 1991). We defined government support
effect on entrepreneurial intention among university as the sum of a government’s policies and programs con-
students in Malaysia. cerning a certain issue, such as entrepreneurship.
According to Franke and L€ uthje (2004), environmental
factors can facilitate or inhibit entrepreneurial activities,
Perceived behavioral control and entrepreneurial
thus affecting the alleged benefits of new venture crea-
intention
tion. Those close to an environment that offers adequate
The third construct of the TPB, perceived behavioral support for entrepreneurial activities are more likely to
control, refers to the perceived difficulties or ease of per- adopt the self-employment option (Li~ nan, 2008). Envi-
forming a behavior, reflecting anticipated impediments ronmental factors can affect the perceived ease or
300 A. A. MAMUN ET AL.
difficulty of venturing into a new business (i.e., perceived that family support influences perceived support for
behavioral control), which can in turn influence entrepreneurship, by assuring people that the business
entrepreneurial intention. This study argues that one environment is favorable and that resources such as
such environmental support originates from the govern- information and access to capital are available (Mahajar,
ment. Gnyawali and Fogel (1994) found that govern- 2012). This perceived support could be considered a
ments can enhance entrepreneurship through assistance form of the TPB’s perceived behavioral control, accord-
programs such as tax and other incentives as well as ing to which individuals are more likely to engage in
relaxed trade rules and regulations, thereby ensuring an entrepreneurial activities if they perceive that resources
entrepreneurship-positive environment. that would ease their intentional behavior are available
Fogel (2001) supported this notion and suggested that (Ajzen, 1991). Therefore, based on the theory and the lit-
governments could offer tax incentives and other pro- erature, we expected that family support would signifi-
grams to promote entrepreneurial activities. Similarly, cantly influence perceived behavioral control and
using the TPB, Tan and Teo (2000) found that percep- thereby facilitate entrepreneurial intention. Hence, the
tions of government support influenced intentions. following hypothesis was proposed:
Fatoki (2010) concluded that government support is
essential for entrepreneurial intention, particularly H3b: Support from family has a significantly positive
among students. As the TPB suggests, the willingness effect on perceived behavioral control among univer-
and capability to initiate a business may be enhanced if sity students in Malaysia.
potential entrepreneurs perceive few obstacles to the
startup process and if they are confident that external Entrepreneurial development programs and perceived
expertise and resources can be easily obtained whenever behavioral control
necessary. This means that substantial government sup- Perceived behavioral control, the perceived difficulty or
port could increase people’s perceived behavioral con- ease of performing a certain behavior, depends on the
trol, resulting in a stronger entrepreneurial intention. availability and accessibility of self-capability, informa-
Therefore, we hypothesized the following: tion, knowledge, and other resources required by an
individual to perform a certain behavior (Ajzen, 1991).
H3a: Government support has a significantly positive Perceived behavioral control’s influence on intention
effect on perceived behavioral control among univer- thus depends on the availability and accessibility of those
sity students in Malaysia. resources. This study posits that entrepreneurial develop-
ment programs such as entrepreneurial training, as a
Support from family and perceived behavioral control source of entrepreneurial knowledge and information,
Family background and family support are two of the can affect perceived behavioral control and act as one of
many significant factors in an individual’s inclination to its significant dimensions. Recent research has shown
become an entrepreneur (Fatoki, 2010; Keat et al., 2011; that entrepreneurial programs deliver and develop exten-
Mahajar, 2012). The literature indicates that support sive knowledge on entrepreneurship among students (Al
from family shapes the perceived desirability of ventur- Mamun et al., 2016). Following the TPB, this should
ing into a business (Ismail et al., 2009). According to Bir- mean that students exposed to such entrepreneurial
ley and Westhead (1994), having a role model also developmental programs are more knowledgeable, which
significantly affects the intention to start a business ven- should increase their perceived behavioral control and
ture. According to Crant (1996), being raised in an make them more likely to pursue an entrepreneurial
entrepreneurial family significantly impacts an individu- career.
al’s intention to be self-employed, as entrepreneurial Entrepreneurial education increases both entrepre-
parents can serve as mentors and advisors for their chil- neurial competencies and intention to self-employment
dren and implant the idea of starting their own business among students (Sanchez, 2013). The literature indicates
(Matthews & Moser, 1995). that entrepreneurial education is the most effective way
Recently, Z. Peng, Lu, and Kang (2013) found that to embed an entrepreneurial culture by nurturing an
families significantly impact an individual’s entrepre- entrepreneurial mindset among students and thereby
neurial intentions via role modeling, whereby parents increasing the future supply of graduate entrepreneurs
play crucial roles in their children’s future entrepreneur- (Fenton & Barry, 2014). Keat et al. (2011) empirically
ial career. This is also the case for university students as proved that students exposed to entrepreneurial courses
potential entrepreneurs: it is their families, along with remain more inclined toward entrepreneurship.
outsiders, that most strongly influence their career Entrepreneurial education forms a bridge between the
choices (Matlay, 2008). The empirical evidence indicates personality structure and attitudes to entrepreneurship,
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS 301
thereby influencing entrepreneurial intention and foster- study, quality entrepreneurial education, along with an
ing aspirations to start a business venture (Ismail, 2010). understanding of entrepreneurial competencies, is the
Therefore, based on the theory and the literature, we foundation of entrepreneurial intention among univer-
argue that entrepreneurial development programs, as a sity students (Al Mamun et al., 2016). Therefore, in view
source of entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, and charac- of the literature, quality entrepreneurial education
teristics, increase perceived behavioral control, which in should equip students with entrepreneurial competencies
turn enhances entrepreneurial intention. Hence, the fol- that will prepare them for business startups and
lowing hypothesis was proposed: entrepreneurial careers (Keat et al., 2011). Hence, the
following was hypothesized:
H3c: Entrepreneurial development programs have a
significantly positive effect on perceived behavioral H3d: Entrepreneurial education service quality has a
control among university students in Malaysia. significantly positive effect on perceived behavioral
control among university students in Malaysia.
Entrepreneurial education service quality and
perceived behavioral control
Entrepreneurial intention and startup preparation
Apart from the program itself, entrepreneurial educa-
tion’s service quality is another component that can Entrepreneurial intention refers to attitudes about start-
affect perceived behavioral control and thereby influence ing a business venture in the near future (Kuehn, 2008),
entrepreneurial intention among students. Poor-quality while startup preparation refers to the process of prepar-
entrepreneurial education has been found incapable of ing for self-employment by scanning the environment,
producing entrepreneurial competencies among students gathering resources, networking, and undergoing train-
(Fatoki, 2010). Following the TPB, this would mean that ing (Katz, 1990). Entrepreneurial intention represents
low entrepreneurial competencies (similar to inadequate the TPB’s intention construct, whereas startup prepara-
personal capabilities) should reduce perceived behavioral tion represents the behavior construct (Ajzen, 1991).
control and thereby negatively affect entrepreneurial Gelderen et al. (2008) pointed out that entrepreneurial
intention among individuals. According to Mahajar intention is the first step in creating a new venture, while
(2012), consistently high-quality entrepreneurial educa- Katz (1990) argued that startup preparation is the second
tion programs are required to stimulate entrepreneurial stage toward self-employment. It is rational to assume
intent among students. According to a more recent that no behavior is possible without an intention. For the
302 A. A. MAMUN ET AL.
TPB, intention is the best predictor of behavior. A stron- Hm3: Perceived behavioral control mediates the effect
ger intention makes the behavior more probable (Ajzen, of government support on entrepreneurial intention
1991). The empirical literature generally agrees on the among the university students in Malaysia.
capacity of intentions to predict entrepreneurial behavior Hm4: Perceived behavioral control mediates the effect
(Marques, Ferreira, Gomes, & Rodrigues, 2012). Several of support from family on entrepreneurial intention
early studies established both causal links and discrepan- among the university students in Malaysia.
cies between intention and behavior (Fishbein & Ajzen, Hm5: Perceived behavioral control mediates the effect
1975). Later research found that entrepreneurial inten- of entrepreneurial development programs on
tion was not only the antecedent of behavior but also an entrepreneurial intention among the university stu-
important ingredient in the creation of new firms (Li~ nan, dents in Malaysia.
Rodriguez-Cohard, & Rueda-Cantuche, 2005). There- Hm6: Perceived behavioral control mediates the effect
fore, based on the theory and the literature, we acknowl- of entrepreneurial education service quality on
edge entrepreneurial intention as a significant predictor entrepreneurial intention among the university stu-
of startup preparation and hypothesized the following to dents in Malaysia.
replicate and confirm earlier studies:
Mediating effect of entrepreneurial intention
H4: Entrepreneurial intention has a significantly posi- Finally, we previously conceptualized attitude to entre-
tive effect on enterprise startup preparation among preneurship, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral
university students in Malaysia. control as significant predictors of entrepreneurial inten-
tion, in accordance with the TPB. We also posited a rela-
tionship between entrepreneurial intention and startup
Mediating role of attitude to entrepreneurship preparation. Hence, we expected that entrepreneurial
Earlier, we conceptualized a significant relationship intention would significantly mediate the relationship
between innovativeness or risk-taking propensity and attitude to entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and per-
attitude to entrepreneurship, as well as between attitude ceived behavioral control all have with startup prepara-
to entrepreneurship, as a TPB construct, and entrepre- tion among university students in Malaysia. Therefore,
neurial intention. Therefore, attitude to entrepreneurship we proposed the following hypotheses:
is expected to mediate the relationship between innova-
tiveness or risk-taking propensity and entrepreneurial HmA: Entrepreneurial intention mediates the effect of
intention among university students in Malaysia. Hence, attitude toward entrepreneurship on enterprise
we proposed the following hypotheses: startup preparation among the university students in
Malaysia.
Hm1: Attitude to entrepreneurship mediates the effect HmB: Entrepreneurial intention mediates the effect
of innovativeness on entrepreneurial intention among subjective norms on enterprise startup preparation
university students in Malaysia. among the university students in Malaysia.
Hm2: Attitude to entrepreneurship mediates the effect HmC: Entrepreneurial intention mediates the effect per-
of risk-taking propensity on entrepreneurial intention ceived behavioral control on enterprise startup prepa-
among university students in Malaysia. ration among the university students in Malaysia.
Research methodology
Mediating role of perceived behavior
Earlier, we conceptualized that government support, We used a cross-sectional design and quantitative
support from family, entrepreneurial development pro- approach to explain and predict the relationships among
grams, and entrepreneurial education service quality the measured variables. According to data retrieved from
have significant relationships with perceived behavioral the Ministry of Education, the total population of final-
control. We also posited a significant relationship year business students in Malaysian universities is
between perceived behavioral control, as a TPB con- 14,613. The sample definition was based on the supposi-
struct, and entrepreneurial intention. Therefore, per- tion that these students had experienced the entrepre-
ceived behavioral control is expected to mediate the neurial learning process and therefore had a solid
relationships government support, support from family, foundation of business knowledge and were ready to
entrepreneurial development programs, and entrepre- make decisions on their career path.
neurial education service quality all have with entrepre- The sample size for this study was calculated using G-
neurial intention among university students in Malaysia. Power version 3.1 (Heinrich Heine University D€ usseldorf,
Hence, we proposed the following hypotheses: Germany). Based on the power of 0.95 (which is more
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS 303
than 0.80, as required in social and behavioral science the construct of interest and the characteristics of the
research) with an effect size of 0.15, this study needed a specific method being employed are shared by the meas-
sample size of 172 to test the model with 10 predictors. ures of other constructs (MacKenzie & Podsakoff, 2012).
Reinartz, Haenlein, and Henseler (2009) proposed a mini- As a procedural remedy to minimize the effect of com-
mum threshold of 100 samples for partial least squares mon method bias, besides carefully constructing the
structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and Chin (2010) items, we also “informed the respondent that the
claimed that the minimum sample size should be 10 times responses will be evaluate anonymously and there are no
that of the largest number of paths in the structural or mea- right or wrong answers” while collecting the data (Pod-
surement models; the sample size for this study should sakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003). As a statisti-
thus be 240. To avoid any possible complications arising cal remedy, this study adopted Harman’s (1976) one-
from a small sample size, we collected data from 375 final- factor test as recommended by Podsakoff et al. (2003) in
year students from eight universities in Malaysia. which one fixed factor extracted from all principal con-
We used a stratified random sampling technique structs are expected to explain less than 50% of the vari-
whereby a proportion of the total population is used as ance. The findings showed that one component
the respondent sample. After confirming the sample size explained 24.001% of the variance, which is less than the
with the university, we confirmed it with each univer- maximum threshold of 50%. A correlation among the
sity’s registrar office and then requested permission to constructs of more than .9 is considered an indicator of
collect the data. A total of 400 sets of self-administered common method bias (Bagozzi, Yi, & Phillips, 1991).
questionnaires were distributed to the final-year students The highest correlation between the constructs was .512
of the eight public universities (after our request to col- (entrepreneurship development programs and entre-
lect the data was approved) in Peninsular Malaysia. A preneurship education service quality), which indicates a
total of 375 usable questionnaire sets were returned. lack of common method bias in the collected data.
reliability), (c) convergent validity (average variance with a higher standard deviation, indicating that not all
extracted [AVE], loading and cross-loading), (d) dis- students possess similar knowledge about government
criminant validity (Fornell–Larcker criterion and Heter- support or suffer a similar lack of understanding about
otrait–Monotrait Ratio [HTMT]), (e) AVE, (f) r2 the level of government and family support they could
(the acceptable level depends on the research context), receive if they started a business after graduation.
(g) effect size, (h) path coefficient estimates, and (i) Traditionally, Cronbach’s alpha has been used as a
predictive relevance (Q2 and q2). conservative measure of internal consistency reliability.
The Cronbach’s alpha reliability analysis shows that all
variables except for innovativeness have values of more
Summary of findings than .7, indicating that all the items are reliable. The
Demographic characteristics Cronbach’s alpha value for innovativeness is .590, which
is almost .6 and thus considered reliable. According to
Data were collected from 375 final-year students in Malay- Hair et al. (2013), it is also appropriate to apply a differ-
sian universities. Of the total, 310 respondents (82.7%) ent measure of internal consistency reliability, known as
were women. Most of the respondents were 23–24 years “composite reliability.” The cutoff value for composite
old (243 respondents, or 64.8%), followed by 97 (25.9%) reliability is .7 (Hair et al., 2011). As shown in Table 1,
respondents who were 21–22 years old and 31 (8.3%) who the composite reliability values for all variables are more
were 25 years old or older. Only four (1.1%) of the than .75, indicating reliability. Moreover, the Dillon–
respondents were 20 years old or younger. Most of the Goldstein rho values for all indicators except innova-
respondents were Malays (304 respondents, or 81.1%), 43 tiveness are more than .65, confirming the items’
(11.5%) respondents were Chinese, and 20 (5.3%) reliability.
respondents were from other ethnic groups such as Iban The Dillon–Goldstein rho value for innovativeness is
and Kadazan. Only 8 (2.1%) respondents were of Indian .594, which is almost .6, indicating reliability. Finally, to
ethnicity. Most of the respondents were taking business achieve convergent validity, the average variance
(299, or 79.7%), 63 (16.8%) were taking entrepreneurship, extracted (AVE) value should be higher than .50. As
and the other 13 (3.5%) were taking commerce. shown in Table 1, the AVE values for all constructs are
higher than .50, which indicates acceptable convergent
validity. Finally, to test for the multicollinearity issue,
Reliability and validity
this study also tested the variance inflation factors (VIF).
Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics together with The VIF values for all variables are below 3.3, indicating
the criteria used to evaluate the reliability of the items that multicollinearity is not a serious issue (see Diaman-
used in this study. The mean and standard deviation of topoulos and Siguaw, 2006).
all the variables (i.e., innovativeness, risk-taking propen- As Table 1 shows, the AVE values are higher than .5
sity, attitude to entrepreneurship, subjective norms, for all variables. The loading and cross-loading values in
entrepreneurship education service quality, entrepreneur- Table 2 show that almost all the indicator loadings are
ship development programs, government support, higher than .7 (except for two items that are higher than
support from family, perceived behavioral control, .5), indicating reliability. All the items with standardized
entrepreneurial intention, startup preparation) are pre- loadings less than .7 are kept for further analysis based
sented in Table 1. The mean value for government on Chin’s (1998) suggestion that indicators with a load-
support and support from the family is relatively low ing higher than .5 need not be dropped. Looking at the
Innovativeness (INNO)
While others see nothing unusual in the surroundings, I am able to perceive in it opportunities for business .704a .294 .323 .316 .210 .298 .135 .226 .331 .339 .247
I am able to beat difficulties through strokes of ingenuity and resourcefulness .798a .412 .348 .323 .282 .346 .169 .182 .389 .312 .143
I believe there are always new and better ways of doing things .721a .373 .319 .232 .257 .232 .086 .189 .234 .205 .024
Risk-taking propensity (RISK)
I am willing to take great risks for high returns .415 .792a .385 .290 .234 .198 .069 .192 .348 .327 .207
I do not mind working under conditions of uncertainty as long as there is a reasonable probability for me .364 .745a .307 .195 .166 .195 .051 .137 .257 .281 .207
I do not fear investing my money in a venture whose dividends I have calculated .336 .760a .363 .285 .214 .277 .168 .213 .318 .299 .119
Attitude to entrepreneurship (ATTI)
Being an entrepreneur implies more advantages than disadvantages to me .382 .360 .744a .421 .198 .308 .139 .211 .247 .413 .121
A career as entrepreneur is attractive to me .409 .394 .892a .453 .223 .372 .124 .250 .372 .560 .136
If I had the opportunity and resources, I would like to start a business .333 .377 .851a .472 .208 .385 .058 .177 .296 .547 .116
Being an entrepreneur would entail great satisfaction for me .369 .412 .849a .472 .264 .385 .093 .230 .376 .578 .157
Subjective norms (SUBJ)
If I were to create a firm, my close family would approve of my decision .313 .281 .515 .761a .253 .303 .180 .326 .273 .418 .090
If I were to create a firm, my close friends would approve of my decision .286 .291 .439 .878a .168 .263 .135 .157 .308 .373 .171
If I were to create a firm, my close friends from university would approve of my decision .355 .271 .423 .881a .240 .299 .146 .187 .330 .405 .162
If I were to create a firm, other people who are important to me would approve of my decision .366 .304 .452 .856a .269 .312 .142 .158 .304 .392 .164
Entrepreneurship education service quality (ENTR)
My lecturer is knowledgeable in the entrepreneurship course .239 .204 .265 .277 .775a .534 .202 .157 .299 .337 .064
My lecturer gives feedback on my progress in the entrepreneurship course .257 .192 .182 .184 .777a .466 .175 .160 .309 .270 .069
My lecturer helps me if I need any assistance in the entrepreneurship course .266 .238 .175 .187 .817a .456 .293 .176 .321 .233 .052
My lecturer shows sincere interest in solving entrepreneurship course problems .318 .230 .195 .240 .850a .504 .268 .274 .357 .352 .116
My lecturer displays a positive attitude throughout the course .265 .217 .274 .226 .780a .432 .265 .268 .261 .309 .054
Entrepreneurship development programs (EDPR)
The course has exposed students to basic skills required for entrepreneurs .282 .226 .308 .218 .527 .836a .284 .168 .344 .378 .033
The course has exposed you to the important basic knowledge of entrepreneurship .270 .198 .297 .270 .509 .857a .259 .155 .316 .364 ¡.010
The course has created awareness of being an entrepreneur .348 .229 .342 .278 .497 .881a .243 .167 .347 .413 .048
You are interested in being an entrepreneur after taking the course .402 .307 .478 .383 .483 .796a .255 .210 .438 .561 .123
Government support (GOVE)
There are sufficient government subsidies available for new and growing firms in my country .162 .132 .154 .136 .254 .274 .733a .212 .199 .149 ¡.019
There is sufficient funding available from development organizations in my country .110 .089 .187 .221 .242 .247 .679a .175 .097 .124 ¡.064
New firms can get most of the required permits and licenses in about a week in my country .071 .011 .001 .071 .158 .123 .752a .129 .188 .067 .023
Taxes and other regulations are applied to new and growing firms in a predictable and consistent way .165 .133 .080 .152 .255 .281 .819a .208 .285 .204 .036
Support from family (SUPP)
My parents influence me in pursuing a career in entrepreneurship .236 .256 .254 .224 .255 .183 .155 .828a .329 .309 .125
Assisting my parents in business has increased my desire to be an entrepreneur .217 .147 .227 .189 .203 .203 .233 .840a .356 .281 .180
My parents are willing to provide me with funds for entrepreneurship activities. .172 .179 .153 .175 .219 .151 .211 .742a .268 .212 .150
My parents are role models for me in cultivating entrepreneurship .234 .175 .185 .161 .127 .125 .149 .745a .195 .178 .050
I can rely on my family for assistance in starting a business .138 .133 .122 .192 .124 .094 .154 .560a .155 .168 .111
(continued on next page)
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305
306
Table 2. (Continued )
A. A. MAMUN ET AL.
INNO RISK ATTI SUBJ ENTR EDPR GOVE SUPP PERC EINT STAR
Fornell–Larcker Criterion
INNO .742
RISK .486 .766
ATTI .445 .462 .836
SUBJ .392 .340 .544 .845
ENTR .337 .270 .268 .277 .800
EDPR .396 .292 .435 .350 .599 .843
GOVE .176 .128 .122 .179 .301 .310 .748
SUPP .267 .239 .260 .249 .258 .212 .243 .750
PERC .432 .405 .390 .360 .390 .437 .283 .368 .758
EINT .386 .396 .632 .472 .375 .523 .192 .318 .577 .776
STAR .187 .230 .159 .173 .091 .065 .008 .172 .364 .384 .741
Heterotrait–Monotrait Ratio
INNO —
RISK .781 —
ATTI .630 .615 —
SUBJ .546 .446 .631 —
ENTR .471 .357 .318 .321 —
EDPR .539 .378 .490 .392 .692 —
GOVE .263 .189 .191 .236 .373 .377 —
SUPP .386 .324 .303 .296 .297 .237 .300 —
PERC .611 .542 .446 .421 .461 .503 .325 .421 —
EINT .525 .514 .719 .536 .426 .576 .217 .348 .647 —
STAR .268 .289 .180 .188 .104 .096 .099 .189 .413 .400 —
Notes. INNO D innovativeness; RISK D risk-taking propensity; ATTI D attitude toward entrepreneurship; SUBJ D subjective norms; ENTR D entrepreneurship edu-
cation service quality; EDPR D entrepreneurship development programs; GOVE D government support; SUPP D support from family; PERC D perceived behav-
ioral control; EINT D entrepreneurial intention; and STAR D startup preparation.
cross-loadings in Table 2, all the indicators’ loadings are significantly positive effect on their attitude to entre-
higher than the total cross-loadings, confirming discrim- preneurship. The f2 value of .088 indicates a small effect
inant validity. For discriminant validity based on the size, and the q2 value of .050, which is more than 0,
Fornell–Larcker criterion, the AVE for each indicator indicates that students’ level of innovativeness could pre-
should be greater than the construct’s highest squared dict their attitude to entrepreneurship. The coefficient
correlation with another construct. As noted in Table 3, value for risk-taking propensity on students’ attitude to
all of the constructs managed to meet this criterion. The entrepreneurship (H1b) is .322 with a p value of .000, indi-
HTMT is an estimate of the correlation between con- cating that students’ risk-taking propensity has a
structs, paralleling the disattenuated construct score. significantly positive effect on their attitude to entre-
Using a value of .9 as the threshold, this study concluded preneurship. The f2 value of .109 indicates a small to
that there was no evidence of a lack of discriminant medium effect size, and the q2 value of .064, which is more
validity. than 0, indicates that students’ risk-taking propensity
could be used to predict their attitudes to entrepreneur-
ship. The r2 value, which represents the degree of explained
Goodness of model fit
variance, is .277, indicating that a significant proportion
To assess the goodness of model fit, PLS-SEM software (27.7%) of the variation in students’ attitudes to entre-
provides bootstrap-based tests of model fit including preneurship can be explained by their level of innova-
standardized root mean square residual. The standard- tiveness and risk-taking propensity. Moreover, the Q2
ized root mean square residual value for the model is value of .186 indicates that students’ levels of innova-
.0618, which is less than .08 (see Hu & Bentler, 1998). tiveness and risk-taking propensity have medium predic-
The root mean square error correlation value for the tive relevance for their attitudes to entrepreneurship.
model is .0991, which is less than .12, indicating a good The coefficient for entrepreneurial education service
model fit (see Henseler et al., 2014). quality shows a positive (b D .013) and significant
(p value of .020 < .05) effect on perceived behavioral
control (H3a). Moreover, the f2 value of .015 and q2 value
Path analysis
.05 (> 0) indicate a low effect size and predictive rele-
The path coefficients, as noted in Table 4, show that the vance of entrepreneurial education service quality for
coefficient value for innovativeness on students’ attitude to perceived behavioral control. The path coefficient value
entrepreneurship (H1a) is .289 with a p value of .000, indi- for entrepreneurship development programs on stu-
cating that students’ level of innovativeness has a dents’ perceived behavioral control (H3b) is .276 with a
308 A. A. MAMUN ET AL.
Notes. INNO D innovativeness; RISK D risk-taking propensity; ATTI D attitude toward entrepreneurship; SUBJ D subjective norms; ENTR D entrepreneurship edu-
cation service quality; EDPR D entrepreneurship development programs; GOVE D government support; SUPP D support from family; PERC D perceived behav-
ioral control; EINT D entrepreneurial intention; and STAR D startup preparation.
p value of .000, which indicates that entrepreneurship effect on entrepreneurial intention among the business stu-
development programs have a significantly positive effect dents in Peninsular Malaysia (H1). Moreover, the f2 value
on perceived behavioral control. The f2 value of .067 of .265 indicates a moderate to high effect of attitude to
indicates a small effect size, and the q2 value of .028, entrepreneurship on entrepreneurial intention among the
which is more than 0, indicates that entrepreneurship students. The q2 value of .110 (> 0) indicates a predictive
development programs could be used to predict per- relevance of attitude to entrepreneurship for entrepreneur-
ceived behavioral control among students in Malaysia. ial intention among the students. The coefficient for sub-
The coefficient for government support shows a positive jective norm shows a positive (b D .104) and significant (p
(b D .096) and significant (p value of .028 < .05) effect value of .017 < .05) effect on entrepreneurial intention
on perceived behavioral control (H3c). Moreover, the f2 (H2). The f2 value of .016 indicates a small effect size, and
value of .011 and q2 value .05 (> 0) indicate a low effect the q2 value of .004 (> 0) indicates a low predictive rele-
size and a predictive relevance of government support vance of subjective norm for entrepreneurial intention.
for perceived behavioral control. The path coefficient The coefficient for perceived behavioral control shows a
value for support from family on students’ perceived positive (b D .371) and significant (p value of .000 < .05)
behavioral control (H3d) is .253 with a p value of .000, effect on entrepreneurial intention (H3). Moreover, the f2
which indicates that support from family has a signifi- value of .242 indicates a moderate to high effect of per-
cantly positive effect on perceived behavioral control. ceived behavioral control on entrepreneurial intention
The f2 value of .081 indicates a small effect size, and the among the business students in Malaysia. The q2 value of
q2 value of .034, which is more than 0, indicates that sup- .095 (> 0) indicates a predictive relevance of perceived
port from family could be used to predict perceived behavioral control for entrepreneurial intention among
behavioral control among students in Malaysia. More- the students. Finally, the r2 value, which represents the
over, the r2 value, which represents the degree of degree of explained variance, is .536, indicating that a sig-
explained variance, is .292, indicating that a significant nificant proportion (53.6%) of the variation in students’
proportion (29.2%) of the variation in students’ per- entrepreneurial intention can be explained by attitude to
ceived behavioral control can be explained by entre- entrepreneurship, subjective norm, and perceived behav-
preneurship education service quality, entrepreneurship ioral control. Moreover, the Q2 value of .318 indicates a
development programs, government support, and sup- large predictive relevance of attitude to entrepreneurship,
port from family. Finally, the Q2 value of .155 indicates subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control for
a medium predictive relevance of entrepreneurship edu- entrepreneurial intention among the business students in
cation service quality, entrepreneurship development Peninsular Malaysia.
programs, government support, and support from family Finally, the coefficients for perceived behavioral con-
for perceived behavioral control among the business stu- trol show a positive (b D .213) and significant (p value of
dents in Peninsular Malaysia. .000 < .05) effect on enterprise startup preparation (H4).
The coefficient for attitude to entrepreneurship shows a The f2 value of .037 indicates a small effect of perceived
positive (b D .431) and significant (p value of .000 < .05) behavioral control on startup preparation. The q2 value
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS 309
of .011 (> 0) indicates a predictive relevance of perceived on the mediating effect on entrepreneurial intention.
behavioral control for startup preparation among the The significantly (at a 5% level of significance) positive
business students in Malaysia. The coefficient for indirect effects of attitude to entrepreneurship, subjective
entrepreneurial intention on students’ startup prepara- norms, and perceived behavioral control on startup
tion (H5) is .262 with a p value of .000, indicating that preparation indicate the partial mediation of entrepre-
entrepreneurial intention has a significantly positive neurial intention among the students.
effect on startup preparation. The f2 value of .056 indi-
cates a small effect size, and the q2 value of .024, which is
Multigroup analysis
more than 0, indicates that entrepreneurial intention
could be used to predict startup preparation among the To provide an in-depth understanding from theoretical
business students in Malaysia. Moreover, the r2 value, and practical perspectives, we examined the model using
which represents the degree of explained variance, is the multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA) approach. Among
.178, indicating that a significant proportion the antecedents, we selected gender, ethnicity, and study
(17.8%percent) of the variation in students’ startup prep- area subgroups. However, the limited number of cases in
aration can be explained by their entrepreneurial inten- a few of the subgroups created the singular matrix error.
tion and perceived behavioral control. Moreover, the Q2 Therefore, only subgroups without a singular matrix
value of .091 indicates a small to medium predictive rele- error are considered in the PLS-MGA. The findings indi-
vance of entrepreneurial intention and perceived behav- cate that the effects of risk-taking propensity on attitude
ioral control for startup preparation among the business to entrepreneurship differed significantly (at a 5% level
students in Peninsular Malaysia. of significance) across the sex subgroups (male vs.
female): the effect of risk-taking propensity on attitude
to entrepreneurship is greater among men (see Table 6).
Mediating effects
Moreover, the path coefficient for subjective norm on
Regarding the mediating effects of attitude to entre- attitude to entrepreneurship is significantly greater (at a
preneurship, perceived behavioral control and entrepre- 5% level of significance) among the male students. More-
neurial intention, the study presents the indirect effect over, the p values of all other associations are more than
coefficients, confidence intervals, and p values in Table 5. .05, indicating a lack of the heterogeneity issue.
The table reveals that innovativeness and risk-taking
propensity have a significantly (p values < .05) positive
Importance performance matrix analysis
indirect effect on entrepreneurial intention among the
final-year graduates in Malaysia, also confirming the This study conducted a post hoc importance–perfor-
mediating effect (partial mediation) of attitude to entre- mance matrix analysis using entrepreneurial intention
preneurship. The statistically significant (p value < .05) and startup preparation as the targets. The total effect
positive indirect effects of entrepreneurship education values (representing the importance score) and the per-
service quality, entrepreneurship development programs, formance values (ranging from 0 [lowest performance] to
government support, and support from family on 100 [highest performance]) are presented in Table 7. Stu-
entrepreneurial intention among the students also con- dents’ attitude to entrepreneurship and perceived behav-
firm the partial mediation of perceived behavioral con- ioral control are the two most important factors in
trol for all four associations. Finally, this study reports entrepreneurial intention. Although the performance
Notes. INNO D innovativeness; RISK D risk-taking propensity; ATTI D attitude toward entrepreneurship; SUBJ D subjective norms; ENTR D entrepreneurship edu-
cation service quality; EDPR D entrepreneurship development programs; GOVE D government support; SUPP D support from family; PERC D perceived behav-
ioral control; EINT D entrepreneurial intention; and STAR D startup preparation.
310 A. A. MAMUN ET AL.
Table 6. Multigroup analysis (p values), (N D 375). support, support from family, entrepreneurial develop-
Gender Ethnicity Study areas-1 mental programs, and entrepreneurial education service
quality) to offer empirical evidence supporting and thus
INNO ! ATTI .738 .974 .071
RISK ! ATTI .046 .365 .909 extending the TPB (Ajzen, 1991).
ENTR ! PERC .311 .546 .117 The findings have revealed that attitude to entre-
EDPR ! PERC .763 .947 .635
GOVE ! PERC .171 .168 .607 preneurship, generated by innovativeness and risk-taking
SUPP ! PERC .624 .753 .594 propensity, has significant effects on entrepreneurial
ATTI ! EINT .989 .305 .965
SUBJ ! EINT .043 .088 .152
intention among university students in Malaysia. This
PERC ! EINT .336 .365 .541 finding is in line with earlier findings (Dinis et al., 2013;
PERC ! STAR .223 .136 .081 Dohse & Walter, 2010; Frank et al., 2007; Sesen, 2013)
EINT ! STAR .699 .878 .429
and confirms the associations premised in the TPB. Sub-
Notes. INNO D innovativeness; RISK D risk-taking propensity; ATTI D attitude jective norms show a positive and significant effect on
toward entrepreneurship; SUBJ D subjective norms; ENTR D entrepreneur-
ship education service quality; EDPR D entrepreneurship development pro- entrepreneurial intentions, also in line with the TPB and
grams; GOVE D government support; SUPP D support from family; PERC D supporting earlier studies (Krueger et al., 2000; Souitaris
perceived behavioral control; EINT D entrepreneurial intention; and STAR D
startup preparation. et al., 2007). Furthermore, the findings have revealed a
positive and significant effect of perceived behavioral con-
scores for subjective norms and entrepreneurial educa- trol on entrepreneurial intentions, originating from gov-
tion service quality are higher, they have little influence ernment support, support from family, entrepreneurial
on students’ entrepreneurship intention. Thus, attitude developmental programs, and entrepreneurial education
to entrepreneurship, perceived behavioral control, stu- service quality. Finally, as hypothesized, entrepreneurial
dents’ level of innovativeness, risk-taking propensity, intentions also have a significant and positive effect on
and entrepreneurship development programs exhibited startup preparation, in accordance with the TPB (Ajzen,
higher levels of importance and performance than the 1991). Thus, this study completely supports and empiri-
other constructs. cally confirms the TPB.
The findings on the mediating effects have revealed a
full mediating effect of attitude to entrepreneurship on
Discussion
the relationship between innovativeness and entrepre-
This study provides empirical evidence for the effects of neurial intention, indicating that attitude to entrepreneur-
attitude to entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and per- ship is completely responsible for the relationship
ceived behavioral control on entrepreneurial intention between innovativeness and entrepreneurial intention.
and startup preparation among university students in Similarly, attitude to entrepreneurship has displayed a full
Malaysia. Using a sample drawn from students of selected mediating effect on the relationship between risk-taking
Malaysian universities, we have attempted to extend the propensity and entrepreneurial intentions, indicating that
scope of the TPB and related empirical studies (Mahajar, risk-taking propensity has no effect on entrepreneurial
2012; Rasli et al., 2013) by using startup preparations as intentions without the interference of attitude to entre-
an indicator of perceived behavior to investigate the preneurship. Moreover, this study revealed a significant
ambiguous relationship between intention and behavior, but partial mediating effect of perceived behavioral con-
as reported in the literature (Souitaris et al., 2007). We trol on the relationships entrepreneurial developmental
examined two dimensions of attitude to entrepreneurship programs and entrepreneurial education service quality
(innovativeness and risk-taking propensity) and four have with entrepreneurial intentions, indicating that the
dimensions of perceived behavioral control (government effects of entrepreneurial developmental programs and
entrepreneurial education service quality on entrepre-
Table 7. Performance and total effects (ND375). neurial intention may exist to some extent, even without
Entrepreneurial intention the intervention of perceived behavioral control. How-
ever, perceived behavioral control displays a full mediat-
Target construct/variable Total effect Performance
ing effect on government support and support from
Innovativeness .150 63.637 family, indicating that government and family support
Risk-taking propensity .132 66.252
Attitude toward entrepreneurship .440 72.903 may not affect entrepreneurial intention without the pres-
Subjective norms .100 71.666 ence of perceived behavioral control in between.
Entrepreneurship education service quality .054 72.174
Entrepreneurship development programs .113 70.712
Furthermore, entrepreneurial intention significantly
Government support .038 60.011 and partially mediates the relationships attitude to entre-
Support from family .075 60.370 preneurship and perceived behavioral control have with
Perceived behavioral control .379 63.127
startup preparation. These findings diverge slightly from
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS 311
those in Ajzen (1991), indicating that, for certain behav- mediating effect of perceived behavioral control between
iors, attitude and perceived behavior might not need the government support, support from family, entrepreneur-
presence of intention. However, entrepreneurial inten- ial development programs, and entrepreneurial inten-
tion revealed a full mediating effect on the relationship tions. Finally, as the TPB emphasizes that intention is
between subjective norms and startup preparations, the most effective predictor of behavior, this study exam-
conforming to the TPB. Since most of the earlier studies ined the effect of entrepreneurial intention on startup
examined the direct effect of TPB constructs on inten- preparation, as a form of perceived behavior. The find-
tion, this study advances the literature by examining the ings revealed a significantly positive effect of entrepre-
mediating effect of attitude and perceived behavioral neurial intention on startup preparations, together with
control, thus deepening our understanding of the TPB the mediating effect of entrepreneurial intention between
model, its constructs, and student entrepreneurship, par- attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control,
ticularly in the context of Malaysia. and startup preparation. These findings are in line with
the premises of the TPB as well as earlier studies.
In terms of practical implications, the findings of this
Theoretical and managerial implications
study should help the Malaysian government address
Although many studies have examined the effects of atti- unemployment among young graduates, which has
tude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control emerged as a major issue (Ahmad, 2013). This study
on entrepreneurial intention, very little research has provided valuable insights into the importance of inno-
investigated how attitudes, subjective norms, and per- vativeness and risk-taking propensity as the building
ceived behavioral control are formed and how intentions blocks of positive attitudes to entrepreneurship, which
affect startup preparation, as a reflection of behavior. directly affect entrepreneurial intention and startup prep-
Moreover, no study has attempted to explain the effect aration. This study further demonstrated the significance
of entrepreneurial intention on startup preparations of government support, support from family, entrepre-
among university students in Malaysia. This study exam- neurial developmental programs, and entrepreneurial
ined the effect of entrepreneurial attitude (generated education service quality as significant contributors of
from innovativeness and risk-taking propensity), subjec- perceived behavioral control that determine entrepre-
tive norms, and perceived behavioral control (generated neurial intention and startup preparation as well. These
from government support, support from family, findings could help the government of Malaysia formu-
entrepreneurial developmental programs, and entrepre- late policies and programs for inducing university stu-
neurial education service quality) on entrepreneurial dents to pursue an entrepreneurial career, which could
intention and startup preparation, thus greatly enriching reduce their heavy dependency on conventional jobs and
the entrepreneurship literature by offering a real-world thereby reduce unemployment. These findings should
manifestation of the effects of TPB constructs on poten- also be beneficial to universities and other institutions of
tial entrepreneurs’ intentions. The findings of this study higher education. As entrepreneurship education is one
completely supported the TPB model by highlighting of the most effective ways to reduce the unemployment
that attitude to entrepreneurship, subjective norms, and and underemployment among graduates (Ghadas, Mus-
perceived behavioral control have significantly positive lim, & Hamid, 2014), universities and higher education
effects on entrepreneurial intention and startup institutions could use these findings to design the con-
preparation. tent and curriculum of their entrepreneurial programs
These findings contribute to the TPB by explaining and courses. They should ensure that their entrepreneur-
how innovativeness and risk-taking propensity affect ial developmental programs are of high quality and
attitude to entrepreneurship, which in turn affects promote innovation and calculated risk, which will create
entrepreneurial intention, which finally influences positive attitudes to entrepreneurship among students
startup preparation. The study revealed the significant and thus strengthen their entrepreneurial intention to
mediating effect of attitude to entrepreneurship between pursue entrepreneurial careers.
innovativeness, risk-taking propensity, and entrepre-
neurial intentions. The study further contributes to the
Conclusion
TPB by explaining how government support, support
from family, entrepreneurial development programs, It has been reported that young people 10–24 years old
and entrepreneurial education service quality all affect account for 1.8 billion of the world population. Most of
perceived behavioral control, which in turn affects them experience difficulties finding decent jobs, espe-
entrepreneurial intention, which finally results in startup cially given the current economic downturn (United
preparation. This study revealed the significant Nations Development Programme, 2012), lack of job
312 A. A. MAMUN ET AL.
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