Examining Entrepreneurial Intention and Its Correlates among Undergraduate Students in Ethiopia: An Empirical Study

Abstract

The current study tried to investigate entrepreneurial intention and its correlates among students of Addis Ababa University. Primary data were collected from 309 randomly selected undergraduate final year students from different colleges and departments of the Addis Ababa University using a standardized survey questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics as well as linear regression model were used to analyze the data. The results of descriptive analysis indicated that the overall mean score of entrepreneurial intention of the graduating students was 2.10 out of 5, which shows that the graduating students had weak entrepreneurial intention. Results of the study indicated that personal attitude and perceived behavioral control affected entrepreneurial intention positively whereas age affected it negatively. The findings of the study implied for the need to work on changing the attitude of graduating students towards entrepreneurship and self-employment and enhancing their perceived behavioral control through entrepreneurial education and training in order to realize entrepreneurship development in the country