This study aims to identify factors having effect on college students' startup intentions and empirically verify how these factors have effect on college students' startup intentions. Based on previous researches, this study discovered that college st...
This study aims to identify factors having effect on college students' startup intentions and empirically verify how these factors have effect on college students' startup intentions. Based on previous researches, this study discovered that college students' startup intentions may be greatly affected by their personal characteristics and the supportive characteristics of colleges and the society.
Students' personal characteristics were largely composed of psychological characteristics and experiential characteristics. Psychological characteristics indicate need for achievement, risk-taking propensity, self-efficacy, personal values, and need for entrepreneurship, while experiential characteristics indicate role model-exposed experience, pre-startup activity experience, and entrepreneurial activity experience.
On the other hand, the supportive characteristics of colleges indicate students' experiences of receiving startup-related education or training or having startup-related advice or counseling, while the supportive characteristics of the society indicate college students' levels of perceiving what values the society gives toward their startup activities. Besides, supportive characteristics of the society even includes whether various kinds of social networks in student's daily lives are helpful for their startup activities.
As an empirical research, this study conducted a survey focusing on 18 startup-leading colleges. A total of 1,800 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to students, out of which 769 copies were collected from 9 colleges and used to empirically analyze the effects of students' personal characteristics and the supportive characteristics of colleges and the society on their startup intentions.
The results of this analysis can be summarized as below.
Firstly, it was found that college students' psychological characters, such as need for achievement, risk-taking propensity, self-efficacy and personal value, have significant and positive effect on their startup intentions. This finding shows that both colleges and the society should put more effort to enhance college student's entrepreneurship and activate youth startup.
Secondly, it was found that students' various startup-related experiences and activities have significant and positive effect on their startup intentions. This finding shows that it is needed to develop various kinds of programs for college students to be exposed to different kinds of startup-related activities and experiences, further activating youth startup.
Thirdly, it was found that various startup supportive activities in college have significant and positive effect on college students' startup intentions. This finding shows that colleges should focus more on startup education programs in addition to counseling, coaching and guidance to activate youth startup.
Fourthly, it was found that college students' perceptions of social values and supports from social networks have significant and positive effect on their startup intentions. This finding shows that political supports should be provided to improve the public awareness toward youth startup.
Lastly, it was found that college students' personal characteristics and the supportive characteristics of colleges and the society have significant effect on their startup intentions respectively, but through interactions between them, these factors have more significant and positive effect on their startup intentions. This finding shows that college students' personal entrepreneurial characteristics are important to activate youth startup, but active supports from colleges and the society are also very important to activate youth startup.