Entrepreneurship is an important tool for reducing unemployment, speeding up economic growth, and fostering innovation and social reform; hence, entrepreneurship is now recognised as a valuable subject for study at universities. Educational institutions aim to foster entrepreneurial intention – the conscious state of mind that precedes action and drives an individual’s focus to achieve a goal, such as establishing a business or becoming an entrepreneur (Michelacci & Schivardi, 2020).

As a result, higher education institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role in fostering an entrepreneurial mindset by inspiring the next generation of business executives and innovative businesses that increase employment (Case et al., 2013; Al Moosa & Porkodi, 2014). But the outcome also depends on the personality traits (because people are different), creative thinking (innovation), and passion of the students for entrepreneurship education. This blog post focuses on a study that examined the effect of individual traits, innovation and passion of students on attaining entrepreneurial intention.

‘Most students have prior knowledge of entrepreneurship, and they are willing to improve their performance through criticism (learning passion), but only a few of them are willing to take risks (entrepreneurial intention).’

With an emphasis on the promotion of entrepreneurial intent held by HEIs providing entrepreneurship education, an empirical study was conducted to evaluate the indirect impact of HEIs in developing entrepreneurial intention with their passion towards learning entrepreneurship (Porkodi & Saranya, 2023). Student personality and creative thinking were also investigated as moderators of entrepreneurship education’s effects on students’ intent to start businesses. To conduct the research study, the data was collected from 636 students pursuing an entrepreneurship course at colleges affiliated with Bharathiar University in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (India). A structured questionnaire was framed with 37 closed-ended questions based on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), which was then used to collect the data as ratings from respondents. Based on the students’ responses, it was found most students have prior knowledge of entrepreneurship, and they are willing to improve their performance through criticism (learning passion), but only a few of them are willing to take risks (entrepreneurial intention).

An empirical analysis was carried out, and the following are the findings of the study:

• HEIs have a direct effect on promoting entrepreneurial intent. However, the degree to which entrepreneurial intention is promoted depends on the efficiency of the college or university including quality entrepreneurial content, efficacious lectures, and a supportive environment with adequate resources for developing entrepreneurial skills among students.
• HEIs have a direct effect on learning passion, which in turn has a direct effect on entrepreneurial intention. This indicates that passion positively mediates the relationship between HEI and entrepreneurial intention.
• Student traits and innovativeness impact learning passion, and HEIs’ interaction with them negatively affects it. This may be because entrepreneurial education in HEIs will be more restricted and controlled, reducing students’ business zeal.

In conclusion, the study claims that students pursue entrepreneurship education to gain practical experience through fieldwork and interaction with entrepreneurs. So, classroom activities, development programmes and supportive instructors significantly influence students’ passion and interest. A good learning environment with adequate resources fosters entrepreneurial intention, while collaborative learning promotes risk-taking, critical thinking and performance improvement (Porkodi et al., 2023). Instructors should provide feedback and monitor progress to motivate low- or average-skilled students to participate in entrepreneurial events outside the campus to enhance their innovativeness and passion for achieving successful entrepreneurship education.

This blog post is based on the article ‘Empirical study on the role of passion, individual differences, and innovativeness between entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions and entrepreneurial intention: A moderated mediating model’ by S. Porkodi and R. Saranya, published in the Review of Education.

References

Al Moosa, H. A., & Porkodi, S. (2014). Measuring the effectiveness of entrepreneurial education among HCT students of Oman: A SEM approach. International Journal of Economics and Business Studies, 3(5), 43–52. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340585046_Measuring_the_Effectiveness_of_Entrepreneurial_Education_among_HCT_Students_Of_Oman_A_SEM_Approach 

Case, S., Coleman, M. S., & Deshpande, G. (2013). The innovative and entrepreneurial university: Higher education, innovation, and entrepreneurship in focus (pp. 18–20). US Economic Development Administration. https://www.eda.gov/sites/default/files/files/tools/research-reports/The_Innovative_and_Entrepreneurial_University_Report.pdf

Michelacci, C., & Schivardi, F. (2020). Are they all like Bill, Mark, and Steve? The education premium for entrepreneurs. Labour Economics, 67, 101933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101933

Porkodi, S., & Rajesh, G. (2014). Measuring entrepreneurial passion among millennial’s of Oman: A SEM approach. Research Journal of Social Science & Management, 3(11), 56–64. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364997775_Measuring_Entrepreneurial_Passion_Among_Millennial’s_of_Oman_A_SEM_Approach

Porkodi, S., & Saranya, R. (2023). Empirical study on the role of passion, individual differences, and innovativeness between entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions and entrepreneurial intention: A moderated mediating model. Review of Education, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3412

Porkodi, S., Saranya, R., Sultana, A., & Mittal, P. (2023). Assessing the impact of collaborative learning practices on competency development in entrepreneurship program: A study of higher education students in Delhi NCR region of India. Journal of Information & Knowledge Management. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219649223500211