Characterizing the entrepreneurial profile of university students from a developing country
Entrepreneurship serves as a pivotal force for innovation and sustainable development. Today, its influence on wealth generation, job creation, and national economic growth is indisputable. Understanding the entrepreneurial profiles and capacities of future professionals has become a priority within...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1443476/full |
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| author | Mayra D'Armas Regnault Agustín Mejías Acosta Pedro Noboa Romero Ligia Fajardo Vaca Wellington Álvarez Baque Cristian Vidal-Silva |
| author_facet | Mayra D'Armas Regnault Agustín Mejías Acosta Pedro Noboa Romero Ligia Fajardo Vaca Wellington Álvarez Baque Cristian Vidal-Silva |
| author_sort | Mayra D'Armas Regnault |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Entrepreneurship serves as a pivotal force for innovation and sustainable development. Today, its influence on wealth generation, job creation, and national economic growth is indisputable. Understanding the entrepreneurial profiles and capacities of future professionals has become a priority within both academic and business realms. While there is substantial research evidence highlighting the impact of entrepreneurship on the business sector, studies specifically examining university contexts worldwide are limited, particularly in developing nations. This study aimed to characterize the entrepreneurial capacity profile of university students in Ecuador, a developing country in South America. Drawing from a literature review, we developed an instrument adapted from the theory of planned behavior (TPB), incorporating personal attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as determinants of entrepreneurial intention. This framework measures entrepreneurial capacity, integrating prominent entrepreneurial competencies identified in the literature as part of personal factors: problem-solving, creativity, financial management, leadership, negotiation, decision-making, self-confidence, and resilience. The instrument was administered to a sample of university students in Ecuador. Using statistical methods, we analyzed the relationships between demographics (age and gender), educational background (parents' education and occupation), the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and TPB factors-including personal attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control-on entrepreneurial intention. Key findings reveal that age, gender, parents' educational background, occupation, and the entrepreneurial ecosystem significantly influence the entrepreneurial intentions of university students. Within their entrepreneurial profiles, self-confidence, creativity, and decision-making skills emerged prominently, while financial management, negotiation, and problem-solving showed potential areas for development. These results offer valuable insights for updating academic programs to foster entrepreneurial intention in Ecuador and other developing countries. Theoretically, this study reinforces TPB as a foundational framework in entrepreneurship research, particularly underscoring the moderating role of sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, and educational level. Practically, it provides a quantitative measurement tool and a control variable for future studies aiming to identify entrepreneurial skills within regional contexts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-04d7868a67004f1593dc50f9565dc360 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2504-284X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-04d7868a67004f1593dc50f9565dc3602025-08-20T02:01:04ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2024-12-01910.3389/feduc.2024.14434761443476Characterizing the entrepreneurial profile of university students from a developing countryMayra D'Armas Regnault0Agustín Mejías Acosta1Pedro Noboa Romero2Ligia Fajardo Vaca3Wellington Álvarez Baque4Cristian Vidal-Silva5Universidad Estatal de Milagro, Milagro, Guayas, EcuadorUniversidad de Carabobo, Municipio Valencia, Carabobo, VenezuelaUniversidad Estatal de Milagro, Milagro, Guayas, EcuadorUniversidad Estatal de Milagro, Milagro, Guayas, EcuadorUniversidad Estatal de Milagro, Milagro, Guayas, EcuadorFacultad de Ingeniería y Negocios, Universidad de Las Américas, Providencia, Santiago, ChileEntrepreneurship serves as a pivotal force for innovation and sustainable development. Today, its influence on wealth generation, job creation, and national economic growth is indisputable. Understanding the entrepreneurial profiles and capacities of future professionals has become a priority within both academic and business realms. While there is substantial research evidence highlighting the impact of entrepreneurship on the business sector, studies specifically examining university contexts worldwide are limited, particularly in developing nations. This study aimed to characterize the entrepreneurial capacity profile of university students in Ecuador, a developing country in South America. Drawing from a literature review, we developed an instrument adapted from the theory of planned behavior (TPB), incorporating personal attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as determinants of entrepreneurial intention. This framework measures entrepreneurial capacity, integrating prominent entrepreneurial competencies identified in the literature as part of personal factors: problem-solving, creativity, financial management, leadership, negotiation, decision-making, self-confidence, and resilience. The instrument was administered to a sample of university students in Ecuador. Using statistical methods, we analyzed the relationships between demographics (age and gender), educational background (parents' education and occupation), the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and TPB factors-including personal attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control-on entrepreneurial intention. Key findings reveal that age, gender, parents' educational background, occupation, and the entrepreneurial ecosystem significantly influence the entrepreneurial intentions of university students. Within their entrepreneurial profiles, self-confidence, creativity, and decision-making skills emerged prominently, while financial management, negotiation, and problem-solving showed potential areas for development. These results offer valuable insights for updating academic programs to foster entrepreneurial intention in Ecuador and other developing countries. Theoretically, this study reinforces TPB as a foundational framework in entrepreneurship research, particularly underscoring the moderating role of sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, and educational level. Practically, it provides a quantitative measurement tool and a control variable for future studies aiming to identify entrepreneurial skills within regional contexts.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1443476/fullentrepreneurshipentrepreneurial profilehigher educationtheory of planned behaviorentrepreneurial intention |
| spellingShingle | Mayra D'Armas Regnault Agustín Mejías Acosta Pedro Noboa Romero Ligia Fajardo Vaca Wellington Álvarez Baque Cristian Vidal-Silva Characterizing the entrepreneurial profile of university students from a developing country Frontiers in Education entrepreneurship entrepreneurial profile higher education theory of planned behavior entrepreneurial intention |
| title | Characterizing the entrepreneurial profile of university students from a developing country |
| title_full | Characterizing the entrepreneurial profile of university students from a developing country |
| title_fullStr | Characterizing the entrepreneurial profile of university students from a developing country |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterizing the entrepreneurial profile of university students from a developing country |
| title_short | Characterizing the entrepreneurial profile of university students from a developing country |
| title_sort | characterizing the entrepreneurial profile of university students from a developing country |
| topic | entrepreneurship entrepreneurial profile higher education theory of planned behavior entrepreneurial intention |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1443476/full |
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