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Promoting entrepreneurship based on university students' perceptions of entrepreneurial attitude, university environment, entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurial training

Alejandro Valencia-Arias (Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín, Colombia)
Diana Arango-Botero (Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano, Medellín, Colombia)
Javier A. Sánchez-Torres (Universidad de Medellín, Medellín, Colombia)

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning

ISSN: 2042-3896

Article publication date: 24 August 2021

Issue publication date: 9 March 2022

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to verify some relationships between entrepreneurial attitude, university environment, entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurial training, which can be used to promote entrepreneurship among university students.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 3,005 questionnaires answered by students from ten universities in Colombia was gathered and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used for the analysis.

Findings

The results show that the more a student perceives an entrepreneurial culture and the more training he or she receives, the more entrepreneurial attitude he or she will have. Also, it was found that entrepreneurial culture has a positive effect on university environment, and the latter has a positive effect on entrepreneurial training.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of this study was that only ten Colombian universities were sampled; therefore, general inferences cannot be made. Additionally, the variables investigated here may have not accurately measured the full scale of the entrepreneurship programmes in such universities or the way the culture of these institutions had a direct impact on students. Projects such as the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students' Survey (GUESSS), which measure variables related to entrepreneurship at the university level, enable universities to shape their policies around this important topic. This study indicates that universities should offer training in entrepreneurial, problem-solving and communication skills to produce entrepreneurs who can better face current challenges.

Originality/value

Other studies have discussed entrepreneurial culture, but they usually deal with university environment, entrepreneurial training and entrepreneurial attitudes separately. This study integrates all these factors and measures the level of interaction between them.

Keywords

Citation

Valencia-Arias, A., Arango-Botero, D. and Sánchez-Torres, J.A. (2022), "Promoting entrepreneurship based on university students' perceptions of entrepreneurial attitude, university environment, entrepreneurial culture and entrepreneurial training", Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 328-345. https://doi.org/10.1108/HESWBL-07-2020-0169

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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