Entrepreneurial Intentions Among Arab University Students

Introduction and Problem Statement

The European Commission defines entrepreneurship as the process and mindset to initiate and develop economic activity (European Commission, 2003). The continued uncertainty about the economy, signified by a declining number of corporate recruiters, fosters the appeal of new business launching and self-employment (Schaper & Volery, 2004). Studies have shown entrepreneurship to be an effective driver of economic growth and a sustainable source of competitiveness amidst emerging trends of globalization (Schaper & Volery, 2004). According to the authors, entrepreneurship drives growth through technological change, innovation, job creation, and wealth generation (Schaper & Volery, 2004). Over the last 15 years alone, large corporations and Fortune 500 companies have eliminated millions of jobs through retrenchment plans; yet entrepreneurial discoveries have yielded a yearly average of 600,000 new incorporations and generated millions of job opportunities (Morris & Kuratko, 2002). These findings explain researchers' continued interest in studying the impact of entrepreneurship on growth and the factors influencing the development of entrepreneurial attitudes among different segments of the population. Most of these studies have, however, focused on western economies, leaving knowledge gaps in relation to the effects of the same in other regions such as Africa and the Middle East.

This paper seeks to identify the core variables influencing youths' attitudes towards entrepreneurship in selected Arab countries in Africa and the Middle East. It is based on an empirical study conducted among a sample of 1,500 undergraduate students pursuing business-related degrees in Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Considering the importance of entrepreneurship in the modern-day economy, this study provides meaningful insights on how universities and other institutions of higher learning could offer entrepreneurial support to their students to enable them to start their own business ventures.

A 2009 report by Silatech and Gallup on the entrepreneurial attitudes of Arab youth identified three factors that youth consider to be the greatest obstacles to success in life: the necessity of personal connections (wasta), lack of awareness of new employment initiatives, and inadequate educational systems that do not offer effective job training (Gallup Inc., 2009). The report notes that Arab youths hold complex attitudes towards entrepreneurship — most of them believe that entrepreneurship leads to wealth and job creation, yet solid majorities do not harbor entrepreneurial intentions, nor do they believe they can make good entrepreneurs (Gallup Inc., 2009).

This mismatch between entrepreneurial attitudes and entrepreneurial intentions among Arab youth is reflected in a study by Almobaireek and Manolova (2011) involving 59 MENA countries. The study showed that although Arab youth consider entrepreneurship a good career choice, most of them do not harbor serious entrepreneurial intentions (Almobaireek & Manolova, 2011). In Egypt, for instance, 77.7% of respondents indicated agreement with entrepreneurship as a good career choice, yet only 24% mentioned harboring serious entrepreneurial intentions (Almobaireek & Manolova, 2011). The situation is even more concerning in Saudi Arabia, where 86% of youth consider entrepreneurship a good career choice and only 1% are inclined to take up entrepreneurial opportunities (Almobaireek & Manolova, 2011). Moreover, only 7.7% of respondents believed they were adequately trained and qualified to start and sustain their own businesses.

The Almobaireek and Manolova (2011) study also presents an interesting finding about the impact of successful role models on Arab youth's entrepreneurial intentions. The findings depict a mismatch between youth's perceptions of successful entrepreneurs in their countries and their own inclination to take up entrepreneurial opportunities (Almobaireek & Manolova, 2011). In Egypt, for instance, 89.5% of respondents indicated respecting and according successful entrepreneurs high statuses in society, yet only 24% indicated being influenced by those high statuses to take up entrepreneurial opportunities (Almobaireek & Manolova, 2011). The case was no different in Saudi Arabia, where the statistics compare 92.3% to 1% (Almobaireek & Manolova, 2011).

These findings raise the question: how effective is the educational system and curriculum in Arab countries in equipping students with entrepreneurial skills? Moreover, what is the impact of role models in shaping Arab youths' attitudes towards entrepreneurship? These two questions drive the current study.

Based on the background provided above, this study seeks to realize the following objectives:

(i) To examine the role of universities in promoting entrepreneurship among Arab university students and their preference towards entrepreneurship.

(ii) To determine the impact of role models in influencing Arab students' preference towards entrepreneurship.

(iii) To examine the effect of the entrepreneurial curriculum and content on Arab students' preference towards entrepreneurship.

(iv) To examine the moderating effect of demographic characteristics on Arab students' preference towards entrepreneurship.

The study provides crucial insight to policymakers in MENA countries. Its findings will assist them in formulating effective policies for enhancing entrepreneurial skills among university students. University administrators will better understand the roles their institutions could play in fostering entrepreneurial development among students, including the influence of role models and demographic variables such as gender on students' preference towards entrepreneurship. This way, policymakers and course designers will be able to develop effective frameworks for instilling entrepreneurial skills among students. Consequently, more students will be inclined to acquire entrepreneurship skills, and the country as a whole will benefit from increased growth and lower unemployment levels.

Literature Review

Researchers concur that universities can play a crucial role in building entrepreneurial skills among students; however, their performance in this regard is far from perfect (Salem, 2014; Iqbal et al., 2012). In his study analyzing the role played by Saudi Arabian universities in shaping entrepreneurial intentions among students, Salem concluded that "most universities have not fully integrated entrepreneurship programs in their curricula" (Salem, 2014, p. 630). Most institutions, the author posits, only offer entrepreneurship programs in economics and business studies, leaving students in fields such as technology, mathematics, and computer science without such exposure (Salem, 2014). These findings mirror those of Iqbal and colleagues (2012), who found that most students in Saudi Arabia and other MENA countries do not consider universities and colleges to have played a sufficient role in influencing their entrepreneurial intentions. The authors therefore concluded that universities need to revisit their curricula to focus more on equipping students with relevant entrepreneurial skills (Iqbal et al., 2012).

Other researchers have focused on how institutions of higher learning need to adjust themselves to become more effective influencers of entrepreneurial intentions among students. Gallant and colleagues (2001) point out that the university's role as an influencer of entrepreneurial intentions can be categorized into two dimensions: its role as an educator and its role as a promoter of entrepreneurship. As an educator, the university could foster students' interests towards entrepreneurship by providing students with ideas to start new businesses, offering bachelor's or master's programs in entrepreneurship, arranging workshops and conferences on entrepreneurship, offering project work focused on entrepreneurship, and creating awareness of entrepreneurship as a possible career choice. As a promoter of entrepreneurship, the university could allow business ventures run by students to use university services, bring students into contact with the networks needed to start new business ventures, facilitate connections among entrepreneurially-minded students, and provide students with financial means to start new business ventures. These findings reinforce the argument that universities can play an immense role in providing requisite entrepreneurship education and skills to students.

A central contention among researchers is that the entrepreneurial curriculum and content could play a positive role in influencing students' attitudes towards entrepreneurship in Arab countries — but only if the curriculum is structured properly and sufficiently reflects the changes and trends of the globalized economy (Salem, 2014; Iqbal et al., 2012). Salem (2014) argues that the reason the entrepreneurship curriculum in MENA countries has not been effective is that it focuses primarily on creating business plans and starting new ventures, at the expense of growth, creativity, and innovation. The author posits that in order for the entrepreneurship curriculum to be more effective, it should focus on instilling relationship-building, critical thinking, problem-solving, and risk-taking skills as a way of thinking and a form of support for building a knowledge-based economy (Salem, 2014). The curriculum and content of entrepreneurship education ought to be structured around competitiveness, innovation, networking, self-realization, communication, and economic growth. Only then will it be able to raise the skill and talent level of students and adequately prepare them to contribute to the knowledge-based economy (Salem, 2014).

Salem (2014) concurs with Gallant and colleagues (2001) that the curriculum ought to stretch beyond classroom walls. It needs to equip students with practical entrepreneurial knowledge to complement their theoretical skills. It ought to accord students an opportunity to interact with the outside world through mentorship programs, workshops, and conferences organized through strategic alliances with established entrepreneurs (Salem, 2014). This will grant students greater exposure to trends and changes in the globalized economy and enhance their inclination to succeed as entrepreneurs in a dynamic environment.

Studies have shown that by identifying with a role model, individuals can be inspired to pursue similar ventures or achievements (Saeid et al., 2014; Salem, 2014). Saeid and colleagues (2014) posit that when a student identifies with a successful role model who owns or runs their own business, they may be inspired to begin and run their own business successfully. A similar view is held by Fayolle and colleagues (2006); however, these authors suggest that entrepreneurial intentions are stronger when the influences come from close relatives. Children of entrepreneurial parents who perceive their role models as successful and positive are highly likely to imitate those role models (Fayolle et al., 2006).

The authors base their argument on social learning theory, which emphasizes the concept of observing and modeling the behaviors, emotional reactions, and attitudes of others. Based on the precepts of social learning theory, students who perceive an entrepreneurial parent or close relative as being successful are likely to demonstrate a greater preference for entrepreneurship than those without such a role model effect (Fayolle et al., 2006).

Van Auken and colleagues (2006) conducted a study to assess the impact of role models on individuals' desire to own business ventures. They asked students whose role models were successful entrepreneurs to rank the influence of those role models on career intentions across 20 different activities. The findings showed that role model activities related to involving the respondent in discussions about the business, employment in the business, and professional activities within the business were significantly related to respondents' interests in starting their own businesses (Van Auken et al., 2006).

Another group of researchers, however, express different views. Krueger and Carsrud (1993) conducted a quantitative study utilizing the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and concluded that exogenous influences on entrepreneurial behavior and intentions only influence attitudes indirectly.

Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the effect of demographic variables on students' entrepreneurial attitudes. The main demographic variables studied include age, gender, socioeconomic status, family business background, race, work experience, and country (Singh, 2014; Rasli et al., 2013). The studies have yielded varied results, supporting the need for further research in this area.

Rasli and colleagues (2013) conducted a study to determine the effect of five variables — race, field of study, work experience, gender, and parents' occupation — on Malaysian students' entrepreneurial intentions. They concluded that: (i) there is insufficient evidence to show that students' entrepreneurial intentions differ by race; (ii) there is insufficient evidence to show that students' entrepreneurial intentions differ by field of study; (iii) students with some work experience have higher entrepreneurial intentions than those without; (iv) male students have higher entrepreneurial intentions than their female counterparts; and (v) there is insufficient evidence to show that students' entrepreneurial intentions differ with parents' occupation.

These findings differ significantly from those of Singh (2014), who found students' entrepreneurial intentions to be influenced by age, income, parental occupation, and family business background, but not gender. In another study, Saleh and Salhieh (2014) assessed the impact of work experience, type of university, and country on students' entrepreneurial intentions. They concluded that students' entrepreneurial intentions differ based on all three variables. Regarding the type of university, the authors assessed entrepreneurial intentions based on whether or not the university offers business incubation services — the study established that students in universities offering such services had higher intentions than those whose institutions lacked them (Saleh & Salhieh, 2014). The authors also found entrepreneurial intentions to be higher for students with work experience compared to those without. Moreover, students' entrepreneurial intentions differed across countries, with countries such as Egypt and Oman scoring lower than Lebanon and Jordan (Saleh & Salhieh, 2014). The authors concluded that the differences on the country variable were due to differences in how students perceived their countries' market conditions, government regulations, and policies (Saleh & Salhieh, 2014).

These studies demonstrate that there are still significant inconsistencies regarding the effect of demographic variables on students' entrepreneurial attitudes. Moreover, most studies have focused on MENA countries individually, with almost none studying the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions in the six selected countries collectively. This study complements existing literature by assessing the effect of the four entrepreneurship education variables on students' entrepreneurial intentions across Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

Research Methodology

The study falls within the quantitative research tradition and exclusively made use of primary data. The chief data collection instrument was a self-administered questionnaire, used to collect data in a cross-sectional field survey. This method was selected for its cost-effectiveness and because it proved easy and quick, saving time and money since respondents were available in a classroom setting. The data collected was used to construct a dataset, which was then factor-analyzed and subjected to analyses of variance and correlation analyses. The study was conducted between October 1, 2015, and June 15, 2015.

All scales were measured on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strong disagreement) to 7 (strong agreement). Sekeran (2012) supports the use of a seven-point Likert scale on grounds of accuracy and high reliability. A review of the literature revealed different models for predicting students' entrepreneurial intentions. The current study selects a generalized framework that assesses students' entrepreneurial intentions based on four variables: the university's role, the entrepreneurship curriculum and content, the availability of role models, and demographic characteristics. Each of the four variables was measured using six questionnaire items.

Data was collected from a sample of 1,500 undergraduate students from six government universities, one from each of the six participating countries: Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. The self-administered questionnaire, accompanied by a cover letter, was delivered to respondents prior to the start of their classes. Faculty members distributed the questionnaires during regular classes and collected them randomly at the end of the lesson. The simple random technique was used to select participants in order to minimize bias and increase objectivity (Sekeran, 2010).

The questionnaire included questions covering four factors: the university's role in promoting entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurship content and curriculum, the availability of role models, and the effect of demographic factors. The demographic factors were assessed using six variables: age, gender, work experience, academic major, academic level, and country.

A pilot study was conducted prior to the main study to test the validity and reliability of the data collection instruments. The pilot study involved 50 students at the faculty of business of one of the participating universities and showed that no major changes or revisions were needed. The instrument's reliability was further supported by positive Cronbach's alpha values for all factors, all of which exceeded 0.6 as shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Reliability Tests for the Four Variables after Factor Analysis

The university's role in promoting entrepreneurship (6 items): Cronbach's alpha = 0.633. The entrepreneurial curriculum and content (6 items): Cronbach's alpha = 0.669. Role models (6 items): Cronbach's alpha = 0.622. Demographic characteristics (6 items): Cronbach's alpha = 0.697.

The study is guided by the following hypotheses:

H1: The university's role as a promoter of entrepreneurship increases the likelihood of Arab Middle Eastern country (AMEC) university students becoming entrepreneurially inclined.

H2: The entrepreneurial curriculum and content increase the likelihood of AMEC university students being entrepreneurially inclined.

H3: The availability of role models (educators or friends) increases the likelihood of AMEC university students being entrepreneurially inclined.

H4: The relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial inclination is stronger for the following demographic characteristics: (i) gender, (ii) academic level, and (iii) work experience.

The study involved a total of 1,500 undergraduate students, all pursuing business-related degrees in the faculty of business. Six government universities, one from each of the six countries, participated in the study. Table 2 presents the sample's demographic characteristics.

A majority of respondents were between the ages of 18 and 22 (92%), with 6% aged 23–28 and 2% aged 29 and older. Of the sample, 59.3% were male and 40.7% were female. Approximately 97% of respondents were pursuing business as their academic major, and only 3% were pursuing other majors. Over 96% of the sample consisted of third- and fourth-year students, while only 4% were distributed across freshman and sophomore years. The skewness towards third and fourth years can be explained by the fact that students naturally start thinking and planning about future careers in their final years in college. In terms of country, 29.3% of participants were from Jordan, 24% from Qatar, 20% from Egypt, and the remainder were distributed across Saudi Arabia (16%), the UAE (9.4%), and Oman (1.3%). Only 16.7% of respondents had prior work experience, while 83.3% did not. Additionally, 76% considered themselves entrepreneurs, while 24% did not.

Conclusion and Recommendations

This paper was geared at identifying the variables that influence Arab students' attitudes and preferences towards entrepreneurship, guided by four core objectives: to examine the role of universities in promoting entrepreneurial attitudes among students in AMEC countries; to determine the impact of role models in influencing Arab students' attitudes towards entrepreneurship; to determine the influence of the entrepreneurial curriculum and content on students' entrepreneurial attitudes; and to examine the moderating effect of students' demographic characteristics on their entrepreneurial attitudes.

To realize these objectives, the study employed a quantitative approach. A standardized questionnaire was distributed among 1,500 undergraduate students taking business-related courses in government universities in Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The sample comprised 890 male students and 610 female students. Descriptive statistics (mean, frequencies, and percentages) and inferential statistics (one-way ANOVA tests) were used to analyze the gathered data.

The results showed that Arab students acknowledge the role played by universities, the entrepreneurship curriculum, role models, and demographic variables in influencing their attitudes towards entrepreneurship. Mean scores showed that students consider the university and the entrepreneurship curriculum the greatest influencers of entrepreneurial attitudes, above the effect of role models and demographic variables. The overall mean was, however, quite low, implying that although students recognize the positive influence of these variables, most of them believe that none of the variables have played their role satisfactorily.

Regarding the role of demographic variables, ANOVA results showed that age, academic major, and work experience were not important determinants of students' entrepreneurial attitudes. However, one's country, gender, and academic level were found to be significant influencers of entrepreneurial attitudes. Male students were more entrepreneurially inclined than their female counterparts, and so were those in third and fourth years of study compared to those in their freshman and sophomore years. Moreover, students' attitudes were dependent on their perceptions of their countries' business environments and policies.

The overall finding of the study was that universities need to play a greater and more profound role in influencing students' entrepreneurial attitudes. The study makes the following policy recommendations:

(i) That AMEC countries enact governmental policies to create a climate that motivates entrepreneurship among individuals, particularly targeting support for the creation of the microfinance sector.

(ii) That countries ease the procedures, laws, and regulations governing the start and conduct of business.

(iii) That university administrators design their curricula to emphasize the importance of entrepreneurship and provide the necessary skills to support such a desire in a knowledge-based economy.

(iv) That universities promote entrepreneurship throughout their campuses via workshops and conferences.

(v) That universities establish on-campus entrepreneurial centers and incubators to support business start-ups by students and the broader community.

These policy objectives will go a long way towards improving AMEC students' preferences towards entrepreneurship. A number of limitations, however, affect the objectivity of findings. First, the study is focused on entrepreneurial intentions, and there is no guarantee that intentions will translate into actual behavior over time. Second, this was an exploratory study conducted on selected government universities in the six countries; caution is therefore needed when generalizing the results to private universities and colleges. Third, the research findings appear to call for further research on a wider, cross-sectional scale. All the same, the findings have important implications for policymakers and university administrators across the MENA region.

Albomaireek, W. N. & Manolova, T. S. (2012). Who wants to be an entrepreneur? Entrepreneurial intentions among Saudi university students. Africa Journal of Business Management, 6(11), 4029–4040.

European Commission. (2003). Green paper: Entrepreneurship in Europe. The European Commission.

Fayolle, A., Gailly, B., & Lassas-Clerc, N. (2006). Assessing the impact of entrepreneurship education programs: A new methodology. Journal of Industrial Training, 30(9), 701–720.

Gallant, M., Majundar, S. & Varadarajan, D. (2001). Outlook of female students towards entrepreneurship: An analysis of a selection of business students in Dubai. Research Paper.

Gallup Inc. (2012). The Silatech index: Voices of young Arabs. Gallup Inc.

Gibson, D. E. & Barron, L. A. (2003). Exploring the impact of role models on older employees. Career Development International, 8(4), 198–209.

Iqbal, A., Yahya, M. & Kokash, H. (2011). Readiness of university students towards entrepreneurship in Saudi private university: An exploratory study. European Scientific Journal, 8(15), 109–131.

Krueger, N. F., & Carsrud, A. (1993). Entrepreneurial intentions: Applying the theory of planned behavior. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 5, 316–330.

Morris, M. H. & Kuratko, D. F. (2002). Corporate entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial development within organizations. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers.

Rasli, A., Khan, R., Malekifar, S. & Jabeen, S. (2013). Factors affecting entrepreneurial intentions among graduate students of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(2), 182–189.

Saeid, K., Harm, B., Thomas, L., Muhammad, C. & Martin, M. (2014). Effects of role models and gender on students' entrepreneurial intentions. European Journal of Training and Development, 38(8), 1–46.

Saleh, W. & Salhieh, L. (2014). An investigation of entrepreneurial intentions among Arab university students. International Journal of Business and Management, 9(12), 197–209.

Salem, M. I. (2014). Building an entrepreneurial economy: Evidence from developing countries. International Business and Economics Research Journal, 13(3), 629–636.

Schaper, M. & Volery, T. (2004). Entrepreneurship and small business: A Pacific Rim perspective. Milton, Queensland: John Wiley and Sons Australia Ltd.

Singh, I. (2014). Role of demographic variables in the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 16(12), 20–25.

Van Auken, H., Fry, F. L., & Stephens, P. (2006). The influence of role models on entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 11(2), 157–167.