The influence of academic and demographic factors on entrepreneurial intention antecedents among students of a Portuguese higher education institution
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Abstract
Researchers have previously used the Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical framework to investigate entrepreneurial intention (EI).
However, there are some studies that suggests that psychological factors such as spirituality (S), emotional intelligence (EmoI) and creativity(C)
play an essential role in developing alternative EI models. This correlational study explores the relationships between EI antecedents (S, EmoI,
C, personal attitudes towards entrepreneurship-PA and perceived behaviour control-PBC) and academic and demographic factors (gender,
scientific study area, working experience, entrepreneurial family background, student status, entrepreneurial education, among others) of
university students. A quantitative approach was used, through a personal questionnaire survey applied to 345 students in a Portuguese higher
education institution. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The correlation levels of S, EmoI, C, PA, PBC and
EI are relatively low to moderate. There are strong positive correlations between EI, PA and PBC. The most creative students have higher levels
of PA, PBC and EI. A moderate positive correlation is observed between EmoI and C, and between EmoI and PBC. S was not correlated to most
of the concepts in the analysis. There are several significant associations between EI determinants and some academic and demographic
variables, for example, higher EI levels occur with students that have “student-worker” status, with those that have taken part in
entrepreneurship education programs, and those who have family members with their own business and have some experience in the labour
market.In educational settings due consideration should be given to EmoI and C as to promote students´ EI. The study has implications for
academics involved in entrepreneurship education.
Keywords: Spirituality; emotional intelligence; creativity; theory of planned behavior; higher education institution.
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