International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Online: 2015-05-07

ISSN: 2300-2697, Vol. 51, pp 115-124

doi:10.18052/www.scipress.com/ILSHS.51.115
2015 SciPress Ltd., Switzerland

Effects of Influential Factors on Entrepreneurial Intention of

Postgraduate Students in Malaysia
1*
Omid Yaghmaei and 2 Iman Ghasemi
1
International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), International Campus,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2
Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), International Campus,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*Correspondence: Omid Yaghmaei (email: [email protected])

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Intention; Entrepreneurship; Previous Experience; Perceived

Behavioral Control; Subjective Norms

ABSTRACT
Entrepreneurship leads to massive economic benefits, such as economic growth, reduction in
unemployment, and development of economies. Understanding the factors that impact on
entrepreneurial intention is the primary and critical step towards predicting and developing
entrepreneurial activities. Due to economic and social developments, entrepreneurial intention is
gaining more importance in developing countries like Malaysia. The aim of this study is twofold;
first, to find out the relationship between respondents attitude, subjective norms, perceived
behavioral control, education, previous experience and age with intention to own a business; and
second, to examine what particular factors are more influential on entrepreneurial intentions of
postgraduate students in Malaysia. The study was carried out with master students. Data was
collected from 380 male and female master students in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) who
were in their final year of study and were considered appropriate for a decision in entrepreneurship.
The analysis of the results showed that, firstly, attitude has direct effect on entrepreneurial intention
but age has inverse effect. Secondly, it was concluded that these two variables were more important
than others in modeling and predicting entrepreneurial intention among postgraduate students in
Malaysia.

1. INTRODUCTION
A great number of studies have shown that entrepreneurship has lead to massive economic
benefits, such as economic growth, reduction in unemployment, and development of economies. As
a result, various developing and developed countries have focused on entrepreneurship studies, and
how to create and improve entrepreneurial skills. Entrepreneurial intention has become a strategy
against unemployment, and a significant tool towards development (Bygrave, 1993). Nevertheless,
since the beginning of these attempts, dramatic gaps have existed in terms of what factors create an
entrepreneur. In other words, which individuals would like to become an entrepreneur?
Understanding the factors that influence entrepreneurial intention is the primary and critical
step towards predicting and developing entrepreneurial activities. Studies show various, and yet
contradict views towards this matter. While some researchers link personal traits and characteristics
to entrepreneurial intention, others look at external factors such as exposure to entrepreneurial
activities. Despite the existence of numerous studies on entrepreneurial intention, there is a
questionable issue in determining the factors that lead to higher or lower entrepreneurial intention.
Moreover, there is no unanimous approach that allows predicting entrepreneurship. In fact, some
studies argue that none of the proposed factors can truly predict who will become an entrepreneur.
Gartner et al. (2000) in their study claimed that neither personality traits, nor background factors are
reliable predictors of entrepreneurship likelihood of an individual. The present study aims to
investigate the influential factors on entrepreneurial intentions of postgraduate students in Malaysia.

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116 Volume 51

2. INFLUENTIAL FACTORS ON ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION

2.1. Education
A great number of research studies have been conducted regarding the impact of education on
entrepreneurship. Despite the existence of the studies, the concepts of education and entrepreneurial
intention require further investigation (Peterman & Kennedy, 2003). The main reason behind this
lack of knowledge is the complex, yet contradictory results of the previous studies. For instance,
findings on the impact of formal education on entrepreneurial intention are discrepant. While some
researchers claim that formal education reduces the intention to become entrepreneurs, others have
obtained opposite results.
The next point is that most of the previously conducted researches have concentrated on the
direct influence of education on entrepreneurial intention, while only a few have looked at the
impact of education as a mediator on entrepreneurial intention. Some studies have shown that
education does not significantly impact on the likelihood of turning into an entrepreneur, whereas in
case of higher levels of education, the impact becomes more significant (Goedhuys & Sleuwaegen,
2000).
On the contrary, some studies have shown that the impact of education on entrepreneurial
intention is not linear. Some researchers concluded that higher education has positive impact on
entrepreneurial intention. It was particularly found that business courses lead to higher intention
levels to become an entrepreneur. There is also a positive link between higher education and further
success in opening a business. Another study done in the U.S. showed that there is positive
relationship between the number of years of education, and intention to become an entrepreneur.
On the contrary, some studies have indicated that higher level of education has a negative
impact on the entrepreneurial intention. In fact, these studies showed that those with diploma and
undergraduate degrees show higher likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur (Kirchhoff & Greene,
1995). These studies suggest that the reason behind such findings is that usually people with higher
levels of education tend to have job opportunities so that they are less likely to start their own
business. Moreover, some researches indicate that higher level of education leads to lower curiosity
and risk taking (Naughton, 1987). Even some research studies refer to the type of the education, and
the system through which it is proposed. For instance, it has been shown that traditional education
leads to lower creativity, curiosity, and risk taking, which later leads to lower tendency to become
an entrepreneur (Ronstadt, 1989). Another study argues that traditional business courses tend to
create analytical personality, and reduce the risk taking of the students, which scares them from
taking the risk of becoming an entrepreneur. In line with these findings, Shapero and Sokol (1982)
raise the issue of efficient business course, as they usually lead to create the thinking that small
businesses are not worth it, and lead to failure.
Peterman and Kennedy (2003) claimed that formal education reduces the chances of
becoming entrepreneurs, as these types of education are usually designed to prepare students to
work in corporations. Kilby (1971) concluded that universities and business schools can develop
entrepreneurs only after a radical change in their intellectual and educational priorities.

2.2. Age
Age is generally associated with entrepreneurship. While some researchers posit that
entrepreneurship is a game for the young people, others argue that it rises with age, and the
association is inconclusive. Research studies have shown that age can have an impact on
entrepreneurship. It has been claimed that older individuals have less tendency to start a venture
compared to the younger ones (Levesque & Minniti, 2006). In agreement with this finding,
Reynolds (1987) also indicated that those who are younger tend more to become an entrepreneur.
However, the results of some other studies are contradictory. For instance, it has been found that
older individuals show more tendency to become an entrepreneur.
From the association of risk taking, innovation, energy, and motivation with business
creation, it can also be deduced that entrepreneurship is a game for the young people so that
governments target young people for entrepreneurial activities. Levesque and Minniti (2006),
 International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Vol. 51 117

however, observed that there are insufficient studies on the relationship between age and
entrepreneurship and that there is more need for research in this area. An interesting phenomenon is
the increasing business creation among retirees and older people. Singh and DeNoble (2003) stated
that many people leave their jobs before retirement; however, they tend to later come back and be
employed again in bridge-employment, before completing the retirement. According to Singh and
DeNoble (2003), such people are suited to go into entrepreneurship due to their experience, savings,
and social networks; therefore, they can be regarded as the next generation of entrepreneurs.
2.3. Role Models
Role modeling happens when an individual adopts another persons behavior which is
accepted as ideal instead of learning it through personal experience (Scherer et al., 1989). The
notion that entrepreneurship can be learned from others is based on Bandura Social Learning
Theory (1986). This role modeling can happen in professional career of individuals as well. In such
case, a person can pursue a certain type of career based on other peoples success, in which success
being defined as to what extent the model draws satisfaction from the task (Scherer, et al., 1989).
Some studies have shown that there is a significant relationship between having an
entrepreneur role model and becoming an entrepreneur. According to Matthews and Moser (1996),
apart from the overrepresentation of males, the most consistent result in entrepreneurship research is
a correlation with role models. Davidsson (1995) also suggested that lack of role models is one
reason for the low number of women entrepreneurs in the society. One special case of role
modeling is parental influence. Davidsson (1995) also stated that those children with entrepreneur
parents show higher tendency to become an entrepreneur themselves.
Role models are gender specific; sons are more likely to learn from their fathers, while
daughters are more likely to learn from their mothers. The role of parents as social role models
leads to higher impact of their career choice on their children. Entrepreneur parents usually show
higher support of their children to become an entrepreneur as well. However, the influence of role
models does not command universal support. Brockhaus and Horwitz (1986) concluded that many
entrepreneurs have entrepreneur parents, but entrepreneurs children do not disproportionately
become entrepreneurs themselves. Scherer, et al. (1989) observed that some children of
entrepreneurs do not go into entrepreneurship, while individuals without parental role models
develop an interest in an entrepreneurial career. However, Krueger (1993) stated that there is no
significant relationship between having entrepreneur parents and becoming an entrepreneur.
Empirical support is also lacking due to weak testable basis on how this influence takes place and
the effect of role models is not well understood (Gupta, et al., 2009).
2.4. Previous Experience
Researchers believe that people with prior experience are more likely to start business and
more likely to succeed in the business. Prior experience is therefore associated with
entrepreneurship. Davidsson (1995) concluded that there is an overrepresentation of people with
prior experience among business owners.
It has been shown that those who take the risk of starting their first business show higher
tendency to go for the second one as well. This experience can be obtained from a paid job as well.
For instance, it has been stated that those who gain experience at their previous job, tend to use their
knowledge into more successful entrepreneurship activities. Prior experience is also associated with
entrepreneurship as a source of business ideas. Scott and Twomey (1988) found that 30% of
students with work experience said they had a business idea, as opposed to less than 10% of those
who had never worked. Shapero and Sokol (1982) also observed that entrepreneurs who have failed
are more likely to succeed. Moreover, those with higher experience are more successful. According
to Vesper (1980), those starting their first company tend to be more successful in their second or
third attempt. Brockhaus and Nord (1979) stated that personal experience and knowledge can
impact the choice of an entrepreneur. However, it has been argued that this influence is not from the
prior experience, but from the interpretation and reaction. In general, Robinson et al. (1991)
believed that the influence of prior experience on entrepreneurship is unclear.
118 Volume 51

3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
Attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, previous experience, education and
age have been posited to influence entrepreneurial intention - ones planned to start or own a
business (Davidsson, 1995; Shapero & Sokol, 1982). The aim of this study was, therefore, to
generate and expand knowledge about entrepreneurial intention of postgraduate students in
Malaysia. To achieve the aim, this correlation study was performed. Correlation describes, in
quantitative terms, the degree to which two or more terms are related (Kasomo, 2006). This study
examined the relationship among respondents attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral
control, education, experience and age with intention to own a business. Figure 1 shows the
research framework for this study.

Figure 1: Research Framework

3.2 Participants
The study was carried out with master students. Data was collected from 380 male and female
master students in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) who were in their final year of study and
were considered appropriate for a decision in entrepreneurship. Students in their final year were
considered appropriate for a decision in entrepreneurship because according to Shapero and Oskol
(1982), entrepreneurship is often preceded by a displacement or precipitating event that triggers
action. Therefore, in total, 380 students in their final year of study were surveyed.
The sample size of 380 was suitable. Gay and Diehl (1992) indicated that in correlation
research, at least 30 participants are required to establish a relationship. Krejcie and Morgan (1970)
also observed that, as the population increases, the sample size increases at a diminishing rate and
remains eventually constant at slightly more than 380 cases. Therefore, based on Krejcie and
Morgan (1970), a sample size not lower than 380 respondents is acceptable. The size of the standard
error also largely depends on, and varies inversely with the sample size, and a large sample reduces
the standard error and enhances the viability of the study (Kothari, 2004). Kniveton (2004) observed
that task of choosing career is not static but part of a developmental process, and that from early
fantasy, through tentative stage in the early years of teenage, individuals shift to the realistic stage
to focus an appraisal by late adolescence, and adolescence is a time that entrepreneurial aspirations
take place, and that these inspirations are stable. It can therefore be expected that the respondents in
this study are aware of their career aspirations and that these intentions can predict
entrepreneurship.
3.3 Instrument
This study was designed to examine the relationship among the attitude, subjective norms,
perceived behavioral control, previous education, education, and age with respondents
entrepreneurial intention among postgraduate students in Malaysia. The data were collected using
questionnaires completed by the respondents at UTM Kuala Lumpur campus and UTM JB campus
 International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Vol. 51 119

by online Questionnaire. Participating students were selected, using a combination of stratified

random and purposive sampling, from different faculties in UTM.
3.4 Data Collection Procedures
The completed questionnaires were all given unique identifiers ranging from 1-380, for ease
of reference, and to safeguard data integrity. The different responses were then coded. The nominal
gender variable, male, was coded (1) and female (2). Inapplicable questions, such as whether the
experience was positive/negative where the respondent had indicated that he/she had never started
business, were coded (9) and missing responses (99). The responses to the Likert-scale questions
were coded from 1 to 5 for strongly disagree to strongly agree. A database was then created for
all the variables, in SPSS, showing what kind of variable the response was: numerical or nominal,
the size of the variable, and what the codes meant. The data were then keyed into the database.
Thereafter, an exploratory data analysis was run to check for the obvious errors. Necessary
corrections were made.
3.5 Data Analysis
The data analysis included simple descriptive statistics, correlation, t-test, linear regression
analysis, and factor and effect size analysis. While t-test compared means, whether the scores for
male and female are different, regression showed relationship between the variables, whether the
score related to gender, for predicting future values (Kothari, 2004). Simple descriptive statistics
including frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the respondents background and
demographic data. Mean scores and standard deviation were calculated for the Likert-scale
questions to develop a participant profile. Correlation analysis was performed to establish the
strength of the relationships between respondents perceptions of personal desirability, social
desirability, and feasibility of entrepreneurship with entrepreneurial intention. Subsequent to the
correlation analysis, ANOVA was used. Linear regression analysis was also used to determine the
predictors of entrepreneurial intention among postgraduate university students. The factor analysis
and effect size analysis were also run to determine the factors with the largest influence.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Multiple Regression Analysis
A multiple regression analysis was used to study the relationship between previous
experience, education, attitude, subjective norms, behavioral control and age as independent
variables and entrepreneurial intention as dependent variable. The main objective was to precisely
determine the independent variables that could predict the dependent variable. In this linear
regression analysis, the independent variables were entered simultaneously into the regression
analysis.

4.2. Assumptions
Assumptions of multiple linear regression analysis consist of multicollinearity, linearity,
normality of the errors, and homoscedasticity (Steven, 1996). Testing for multicollinearity is
important, because the impact of multicollinearity decreases the interpretation of a specific
coefficient although the overall predictive power of the model might be good. A high
multicollinearity means that an independent variable is highly predicted by other independent
variables (Hair, et al., 2006). Two criteria, including tolerance value and variance inflation factor
(VIF), were applied to explore multicollinearity. These two measures show the degree that each
independent variable is explained by other independent variables, meaning that an independent
variable becomes a dependent variable against the remaining independent variables (Hair, et al.,
2006).
The results of collinearity statistics indicated that there is no problem of multicollinearity.
Table 1 shows the tolerance and the VIF values relating to each independent variable. As it can be
observed, all tolerances and VIF values are significantly greater than 0.1 and smaller than 10
respectively, which met the values of the rule of thumb.
120 Volume 51

Normality was evaluated using a histogram and p-p plot of the standardized errors. The
histogram and probability plot obtained for the data set are revealed in Figures 2 and 3. According
the histogram and p-p plot, the errors appeared to be normally distributed, and this data set met the
normality assumption.
Finally, the standardized residuals versus the standardized predicted are shown in Figure 4. In
this scatter plot, the points should be symmetrically distributed around a diagonal line in the former
plot or a horizontal line in the latter plot. As Figure 4 shows, the visual analysis proposed that the
linearity assumption has also been met.

Table 1: Results of Multicolinearity Diagnostics for the Model Using Co-Linearity Statistics
Colinearity Statistics
Variable Tolerance VIF Evidence of multicollinearity
Previous Experience .891 1.122 No evidence
Education .908 1.101 No evidence
Attitude .566 1.766 No evidence
Subjective norms .810 1.235 No evidence
Behavioural control .487 2.053 No evidence
Age .884 1.131 No evidence

Figure 2: Frequency Distribution of Standardized Errors on the Dependent Variable Which Shows Normality
 International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Vol. 51 121

Figure 3: P-P Plot of Standardized Errors on the Dependent Variable Which Reveals Normality

Figure 4: Regression Standardized Predicted Values Plotted against the Regression Standardized Errors for
the Dependent Variable Which Reveals Linearity

4.3. Inferential Statistics

In this section, some appropriate statistical tests are applied to examine the relationships
among the variables based on the research objectives. To construct the independent and dependent
variables, the means of items related to each variable in the questionnaire have been calculated.
Table 2 presents some descriptive statistics of the variables. As can be seen, Skewness and Kurtosis
values for all research variables are less than 1. We can therefore accept that the distribution of
variables does not differ much from normal distribution and being normal theory about those
variables is true.
122 Volume 51

Table 2: Descriptive Statistics of Research Variables

N Min Max Mean SD
Skewness Kurtosis
Statistic Std. Error Statistic Std. Error
Previous Experience 380 0.0 2.7 1.4 0.6 -0.2 0.1 -0.6 0.2
Education 150 1.4 4.5 3.2 0.6 -0.7 0.2 0.3 0.4
Attitude 200 1.2 5.0 3.9 0.8 -0.9 0.2 0.8 0.3
Subjective Norms 378 1.0 5.0 3.6 0.9 -0.9 0.1 0.6 0.3
Behavioral Control 376 1.3 5.0 3.8 0.7 -0.7 0.1 0.7 0.3
Entrepreneurial intention 295 0.9 4.4 3.0 0.7 -0.5 0.1 0.0 0.3

A multiple regression analysis was used to study the relationship among previous experience,
education, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and age as independent variables
and entrepreneurial intention as dependent variable. The main objective was to accurately define the
independent variables that help predict the dependent variable. The independent variables were
keyed in concurrently into the regression analysis during this linear regression analysis.
The results of multiple regression analysis with the independent variables which entered
simultaneously indicated that the independent variables as a group significantly contributed to the
prediction of entrepreneurial intention. The independent variables were entered into the regression
analysis as a group. Based on the multiple regression results, the independent variables predicted
39% of the entrepreneurial intention (F=7,707, p<0.05). Table 3 shows that among all the
independent variables, two variables (age and attitude) remained in the model but previous
experience, education, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are dropped. The R
square obtained on this sample is quite significant. Based on Cohens (1977) guidelines, an R
square on 0.26 is considered to be large. In the current sample, the large R square suggests that the
effects are not simply due to a large sample. The same effects would likely have been found even
with a much smaller sample size. This indicates that the current study has much practical
significance.
Also Table 4 presents more details about this model. As Table 4 demonstrates, among all six
independent variables, two variables namely attitude and age have significant effect on the
entrepreneurial intention (B = 2.68, Beta = 0.45, t =3.69, p<0.01) and (B = -0.16, Beta = -0.215, t =
-2.22, p<0.05), respectively.

Table 3: Summarized Information of ANOVA for Regression of Entrepreneurial Intention on Previous

Experience, Education, Attitude, Subjective Norms, Behavioral Control, and Age

Model Sum of df Mean Square F Sig.

Squares
Regression 555.29 6 92.55 7.71 .000b
Residual 888.68 74 12.01
1 1443.97 80
Total
a. Dependent Variable: Entrepreneurial Intention
b. Predictors: (Constant) Age, Education, Previous experience, Subjective, Attitude, Behavioral
control
 International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Vol. 51 123

Table 4: Regression Coefficients of Previous Experience, Education, Attitude, Subjective Norms, Behavioral
Control, and Age in Relation with Entrepreneurial Intention
Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients
Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig.
(Constant) 1.864 4.031 .462 .645
Previous Experience .093 .776 .012 .120 .905
Education -.686 .768 -.086 -.893 .375
Attitude 2.675 .725 .447 3.692 .000
Subjective Norms -.481 .528 -.092 -.910 .366
Behavioral Control 1.567 .906 .226 1.731 .088
Age -.160 .072 -.215 -2.217 .030
a. Dependent Variable: Entrepreneurial Intention

5. CONCLUSION
The objective of this research was to find out which factors are significant and influential on
entrepreneurial intention of postgraduate students in Malaysia. In this study, data were collected
from 380 students. The majority of the respondents were between 27-32 years old. According to the
results, it can be concluded that, firstly, attitude has direct effect on entrepreneurial intention but age
has inverse effect. Secondly, the findings showed that these two variables are more important than
others in modeling and predicting the entrepreneurial intention among postgraduate students in
Malaysia.
This study has shown the most important factors which influence entrepreneurial intentions
among postgraduate students. The results can be helpful for Malaysian government and university
policy makers who try to motivate students to become entrepreneurs. It has been suggested that
entrepreneurship courses be included as compulsory courses for business programmes in Malaysian
universities. Furthermore, the universities are recommended to invite famous entrepreneurs and
hold free entrepreneurship workshops for postgraduate students. The implications of the results can
assist educators, policy makers, as well as students to understand the importance of the most
significant factors including attitude, age and education as the key pre-requisites of entrepreneurial
intention and behavior.

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( Received 08 April 2015; accepted 29 April 2015 )