Enabling Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial Intentions among Emirati Students

Grace S. Thomson and Wasif Minhas ()
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Grace S. Thomson: Faculty of Business, Higher Colleges of Technology, Sharjah Campus, University City, P. O. Box 7947, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Wasif Minhas: Faculty of Business, Higher Colleges of Technology, Sharjah Campus, University City, P. O. Box 7947, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), 2017, vol. 25, issue 02, 211-237

Abstract: This paper aims to identify and examine motivational and environmental factors that impact entrepreneurial intentions of Emirati undergraduates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Using a quantitative, correlational research design this study administered the Entrepreneurial Intentions Questionnaire (EIQ), to a sample of 74 business students from the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Sharjah Campuses. Descriptive statistics, correlational analysis and regression models were used to analyse and evaluate hypotheses. Findings confirm a high degree of entrepreneurial intentions among Emirati undergraduates, explained by a combination of motivational and environmental variables. Emirati Business students value capabilities over social approval to opt for starting an entrepreneurial venture. Students’ entrepreneurial intentions strongly correlated with perceptions of capabilities, which signals significant implications for practitioners. The paper suggests a clear focus on enhancing entrepreneurial capabilities is an effective avenue to cultivate entrepreneurial intentions and foster entrepreneurial action. Although previous studies in the UAE context highlighted high levels of entrepreneurial intentions, understanding of which factors influence these intentions was lacking. This paper makes significant contributions to filling this gap.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; entrepreneurial education; entrepreneurial capabilities; entrepreneurial intentions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1142/S021849581750008X

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