Жамият ва инновациялар –
Общество и инновации –
Society and innovations
Journal home page:
https://inscience.uz/index.php/socinov/index
Entrepreneurial intentions of students and deterrence of
entrepreneurial education opportunities: the case of Uzbekistan
Yuliya PARAMONOVA
1
Westminster International University in Tashkent
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received October 2021
Received in revised form
15 October 2021
Accepted 20 November 2021
Available online
15 December 2021
This study uses an econometric approach to determine the
impact of entrepreneurial business education on the
entrepreneurial intentions of students in Uzbekistan. The work
is based on extensive research by international experts who
determine various antecedents of entrepreneurial intention
based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Eisen, 1991). Such as
the attitude to entrepreneurship, perceived behavioral control
and subjective norms. In studies of another direction, the
importance of entrepreneurial education (PO) in stimulating
entrepreneurial intention is discussed. Which then leads to
entrepreneurial behavior, namely, opening your own business.
The questionnaire prepared by the author is based on a 5-point
Likert scale and consists of several separate sections, each of
which relates to the above factors. The results of the ordered
logistic regression indicate a significant relationship between
entrepreneurship education and attitudes to entrepreneurship.
The attitude, in turn, has a significant impact on the
entrepreneurial intentions of students, accounting for about 5%
of the variation. The results obtained will pave the way for future
developments in the field of development of entrepreneurial
education. Also, they will help to form a more effective state
policy in the field of education, in order to increase the
development of entrepreneurship in Uzbekistan.
2181-1415/© 2021 in Science LLC.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47689/2181-1415-vol2-iss11/S-pp116-125
This is an open access article under the Attribution 4.0 International
(CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ru)
Keywords:
business development,
education,
attitudes towards
entrepreneurship,
economic development,
business venture,
students.
1
PhD student at Westminster International University in Tashkent. Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
E-mail: yv.paramonova@gmail.com
Жамият ва инновациялар – Общество и инновации – Society and innovations
Special Issue – 11 (2021) / ISSN 2181-1415
376
Тalabalarda tadbirkorlik niyati va tadbirkorlik ta’limining
mo‘tadil ta’siri: O‘zbekiston misolida
ANNOTATSIYA
Kalit so‘zlar:
biznesni rivojlantirish,
ta’lim,
tadbirkorlikka munosabat,
iqtisodiy rivojlanish,
biznes tashabbusi,
talabalar.
Ushbu tadqiqot ishida tadbirkorlik ta’limining O‘zbekiston
universitetlari talabalarining tadbirkorlik niyatlariga ta’sirini
aniqlashda ekonometrik yondashuv qo‘llaniladi. Ish rejalash-
tirilgan xulq-atvor nazariyasi (TPB) asosida tadbirkorlik niyati-
ning turli xil oldingi holatlarini aniqlagan xalqaro mualliflar
tomonidan olib borilgan keng qamrovli oldingi tadqiqotlarga
asoslanadi, masalan, tadbirkorlikka bo‘lgan munosabat, qabul
qilingan xatti-harakatlar nazorati va subyektiv me’yorlar.
Adabiyotlarning yana bir oqimi tadbirkorlik xulq-atvoriga olib
keladigan tadbirkorlik niyatini rivojlantirishda tadbirkorlik
ta’limining (EE) ahamiyatini muhokama qildi. Muallif tomonidan
tayyorlangan anketa 5 ballik likert shkalasi asosida tuzilgan va
har biri yuqorida qayd etilgan omillarga tegishli bo‘lgan bir
nechta alohida bo‘limlardan iborat. Buyurtma qilingan logistik
regressiya natijalari tadbirkorlik ta’limi va tadbirkorlikka
bo‘lgan munosabat o‘rtasidagi muhim bog‘liqlikni ko‘rsatadi. O‘z
navbatida, munosabat talabalarning tadbirkorlik niyatiga sezi-
larli ta’sir ko‘rsatadi, bu ularning 5% ini tashkil qiladi. Natijalar
tadbirkorlik ta’limini rivojlantirish sohasidagi kelajakdagi
o‘zgarishlarga yo‘l ochadi va O‘zbekistonda tadbirkorlikni rivoj-
lantirish bo‘yicha ta’lim sohasida yanada samarali davlat
siyosatini shakllantirishga yordam beradi.
Предпринимательские
намерения
студентов
и
сдерживание
возможностей
предпринимательского
образования: на примере Узбекистана
АННОТАЦИЯ
Ключевые слова:
развитие бизнеса,
образование,
отношение к
предпринимательству,
экономическое развитие,
бизнес структуры,
студенты.
Данное исследование, применяет эконометрический
подход для определения влияния предпринимательского
бизнес образования на предпринимательские намерения
студентов Узбекистана. Работа, основана на обширных
исследованиях международных специалистов, которые
определяют различные антецеденты предпринимательского
намерения на основе Теории запланированного поведения
(Айзен, 1991). Такие как, отношение к предпринимательству,
воспринимаемый поведенческий контроль и субъективные
нормы. В исследованиях другого направления обсуждается
важность предпринимательского образования (ПО) в
стимулировании предпринимательского намерения. Которое,
затем приводит к предпринимательскому поведению, а
именно, к открытию собственного бизнеса. Подготовленный
автором опросник основан на 5-балльной шкале Лайкерта и
состоит из нескольких отдельных разделов, каждый из
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377
которых относится к указанным выше факторам. Результаты
упорядоченной
логистической
регрессии
указывают
на значительную взаимосвязь, между образованием
в области предпринимательства и отношением к
предпринимательству. Отношение, в свою очередь, оказывает
значительное влияние на предпринимательские намерения
студентов, составляя около 5% вариации. Полученные
результаты, проложат путь для будущих разработок в области
развития предпринимательского образования. Также,
помогут сформировать более эффективную государственную
политику в области образования, с целью увеличения
развития предпринимательства в Узбекистане.
INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM STATEMENT
In the current decade the rate of youth unemployment throughout the world has
reached new heights at nearly 15% (https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.
1524.ZS). This problem has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the ensuing lock-
downs and the shutting down of businesses globally. In Uzbekistan in particular the level
of unemployment among people under 30 years old amounted to 15.8% (data.gov.uz,
2021) while unemployed women made up 13.3% of the total unemployed. A number of
governments and international scientists have suggested that entrepreneurship education
(hereinafter EE) can be one of the most plausible solutions to this pertinent issue as it
helps spur entrepreneurship development in a country. As an example, in 2004 the
European Commission had advised all the EU member-countries to include EE into the
curricula of national educational institutions, starting from primary schools through
universities (data). WorldBank has made a further step in promoting EE as one of the
pivotal factors in decreasing unemployment rates (WorldBank, 2008). Extensive works of
international researchers have established a positive correlation between levels of
entrepreneurial activity and EE (ref). Entrepreneurial activity in turn is considered to be
the major driver of economic growth, innovation and employment. (Giacomin et al, 2011,
others).
Universities have long been considered as stimulating for economic activity as they
generate knowledge and drive technological development (Goldstein and Renault 2004;
Lööf and Broström 2008). It is essential that universities offer EE that results in the feasible
outcome, i.e. an entrepreneurial action. As numerous empirical studies suggest
entrepreneurship can be taught (Gatewood et al., 2002; Mitra & Matlay, 2004; Kuratko,
2005; Harris and Gibson, 2008; Henry et al. 2005; Falkang and Alberti, 2000; Kirby, 2002;
Kuratko, 2003) and a deliberate and conscious decision to start an entrepreneurial career
can be fostered (Krueger et al. 2000). This has caused a drastic upward shift in the number
and status of entrepreneurial programs at higher educational institutions globally (Finkle
and Deeds, 2001; Kurakto, 2005; Matlay, 2005). Although the benefits of EE have been
confirmed by many scholars and educators, the moderating effect of EE programs on
entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial intent has been largely under-
investigated (Sánchez, 2010).
Uzbekistan in the past few years has also undergone structural changes and reforms
aimed at enhancing entrepreneurial development, both within higher educational settings
and within the country’s overall business activity. A few notable measures were proposed
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which include in particular the development of the university based innovation labs and
incubation centers as well as enhancing EE in high schools and onwards. However, a
comprehensive policy framework enabling the spread and efficiency of EE is still lacking.
In addition to that to the author’s best knowledge no empirical research exists in
Uzbekistan regarding the impact of current EE programs on students’ entrepreneurial
intent. Thus the current study aims to fill this gap and understand whether or not EE has a
mediating impact on students’ entrepreneurial intent.
The following Research question and objectives have been proposed:
Q:
Does EE in higher educational institutions in Uzbekistan have a mediating effect
on students’ entrepreneurial intent?
The following objectives were raised to achieve the purpose of the study:
1) To identify a moderating role of EE on entrepreneurial intention among students
of two international universities in Uzbekistan;
2) To present the methodology of the empirical research;
3) To research the impact of entrepreneurial education on the intention of the
students to start-up business ventures in Uzbekistan.
THEORETICAL CONCEPTS
Consistent with the entrepreneurial literature, the decision to start a company is
preceded by the intention to pursue an entrepreneurial path and to become an
entrepreneur (Reynolds and White, 1997; Blanchflower et al., 2001; Hisrich et al., 2005,
Passaro, 2018). Hence researchers had long been focusing on entrepreneurial intention as
the best predictor of a planned behavior (Krueger et al., 2000) and thus it has become a
prominent field in entrepreneurial research (Fayolla and Linan, 2012). Several theoretical
frameworks have been introduced in order to explore the relationship between
entrepreneurial intention and its various antecedents. Theory of planned behavior (TPB)
provides a strong theoretical foundation for that linkage as well as for the linkage of
entrepreneurial intent and entrepreneurial action (Ajzen 1991). The model that has been
robustly tested by prominent scholars (Karimi, 2011, Engle et al., 2010) proposes that the
stronger an individual’s intention to engage in a specific behavior the more likely that he
or she will actually perform it (Peterman and Kennedy 2003; Guerrero et al. 2008; Krueger
et al. 2000.) The intention itself is the outcome of three antecedents such as (a) attitude
toward behavior, (b) subjective norms and (c) perceived behavioral control (Kolvereid,
1996a; Krueger et al., 2000; Autio et al., 2001; Kennedy et al.; 2003; Angle et al., 2010).
Systemized results of scientific papers indicate different aspects of entrepreneurial
intention. While some authors focus rather on the individual-level factors of
entrepreneurship, others also include regional factors such as the country’s economy and
institutional development. Yet another stream of authors have pointed out the importance
and relevance of entrepreneurial education (EE) for the entrepreneurial intention
(Remiekiene, Lee, et. al., 2005; Turker, Selcuk, 2009; De Jorge-Moreno, et. al., 2012. They
argue that EE is a strong antecedent to entrepreneurial intent and found that its effect on
the latter is mediated, at least partially, through its effect on TPB’s constructs (Rauch and
Hulsink, 2015, Ridrigues et al., 2010, Fini et al., 2012; Vanevenhoven and Liguori, 2013).
Linãn et. al. (2011) advances that personal attitudes and perceived behavioral control are
the main factors that build up an entrepreneurial intention. Lack of knowledge related to
entrepreneurial activity such as business and management, accountancy and
administration knowledge has been found to be one of the main barriers in
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entrepreneurial intention (Pruett et al, 2009). Fayolle and Klandt (2006) in their works
regarded the links of entrepreneurial education to behavior and mind-set. EE helps
students develop specific skills that result in a more efficient opportunity recognition,
decision-making and ease of networking (Fayolle and Klandt (2006). According to these
authors, Entrepreneurship education as it affects the minds of individuals also impacts
their attitudes, values and beliefs which in turn enhance their entrepreneurial intention. It
is also important to note yet another stream of literature where the relationship between
EE and entrepreneurial intention has been found inconsiderate (Rayolle and Gailly, 2009;
Graenetitz et al, 2010; Sanchez, 2013). Some had even identified EE having a counter-effect
on entrepreneurial intention as individuals that had been exposed to entrepreneurial
learning may be discouraged by realistic vision of what it takes to start a company as well
as challenges associated with managing and growing a firm (Oosterbeek et al., 2010;
Fayolle and Gailly, 2015).
Startup or entrepreneurial education which usually encompasses a process of
business-planning, visits to business entities and attendance of local entrepreneurs-guest
speakers (Linan et al., 2010, Honig, 2004). Thus, entrepreneurial training can help
strengthen student entrepreneurial intention and behavior through enhancement of their
knowledge and skills (Barbosa et al. (2008). More recently, some researchers have also
considered a subjectivist theory of entrepreneurship that focuses on individuals, their
knowledge, resources and skills, and the processes of discovery and creativity, which
constitute the heart of entrepreneurship (Kor et al. 2007). Some scholars in their
entrepreneurship theory focused on individuals and the knowledge and skills they possess
as well as how they express their creativity and have concluded that entrepreneurs’
personal knowledge strongly impacts the decision to start a venture (Luthje and Franke
2003). Thus, with the prevalence of intention models in entrepreneurship research many
authors point to the relevance of additional variables such as EE and institutional
knowledge (authors). Kuratko (2005) or Florin et al. (2007), have argued that EE can
strongly influence attitudes toward entrepreneurship. Universities are the major medians
responsible for providing entrepreneurial education therefore should they ensure
adequate level of knowledge and inspiration with respect to business activities the
intention of students to start entrepreneurial careers will increase (Turker, Selcuk (2009).
The following empirical analysis aims to shed light on the relevance of one of these
variables, Entrepreneurial education, in explaining students’ entrepreneurial intention.
H1: The higher the perceived relevance of the course content the stronger the
student’s EI
H2: The higher the perceived relevance of the course content, the higher the
student’s attitude towards the entrepreneurship
H3: The higher the perceived relevance of the course content, the stronger the
positive impact of attitudes on EI
METHODOLOGY
This paper follows an empirical analysis which tries to explore the impact of
independent variables on shaping Entrepreneurial intentions in students. For this
purpose, the Questionnaire survey was chosen as the most appropriate method for
research designed as a 5-point likert-scale divided into the following main sections:
Attitudes towards entrepreneurship, Perceived impact of social norms, and perceived
Locus of Control. The questionnaires were created using the Microsoft forms platform and
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submitted digitally via the Telegram chats to students of different undergraduate
university programs such as marketing, business and management, financial management
and accounting. The total number of respondents reached 160. The aim of this study is to
identify the impact of business-related educational courses on entrepreneurial intention
of students in Uzbekistan. Chronbach Alpha was run on Stata to test internal reliability
between items in the scale. The ordinal linear regression was then used to test the impact
of the IVs on DVs The results will help in formulating future agenda pertaining to
improvements and regulations of educational programs of business-related and
entrepreneurial modules in other local universities country-wide as to extend the positive
impact this education has on students’ intention to start their own ventures and thus spur
entrepreneurial development in Uzbekistan.
RESULTS
Table 1. Cronbach alpha ei ee content attitudes loc subnorms
Test scale = mean (unstandardized items)
Average interitem covariance: .1187279
Number of items in the scale: 5
Scale reliability coefficient:
0.5246
The results for the Cronbach Alpha of 0.53 coefficient in Table 1 are indicative of a
relatively good scale quality. Prior correlation analysis has resulted in an insignificant
correlation of two variables Social norms
(Socnorms)
and Locus of control
(Loc)
with
other variables in the model, therefore they have been excluded from the subsequent
regression analysis. Regression analysis between the DV Entrepreneurial intention (EI)
and IV ee content showed statistically insignificant relations between the variables thus
rejecting our Hypothesis 1. The binary ordinal logistic regression in Table 2 demonstrates
a statistically significant relationship between the DV EI and IV Attitudes with a relatively
high coefficient of 1.08. This variable itself explains c.5% of variations in students’
entrepreneurial intentions. Our Hypothesis 2 was further confirmed by the regression
model in Table 3, which represents a statistically significant impact of IV Entrepreneurship
education content (ee content) on DV Attitudes towards entrepreneurship (Attitudes).
Although previous analysis has revealed a statistically insignificant direct relationship
between variables ee content and EI we included the variable in our ordered logistic
analysis to test the Hypothesis 3 which aimed to identify whether the perceived relevance
of entrepreneurial educational content would positively mediate impact of attitudes on
entrepreneurial intent. Table 4 model indicates that with the addition of ee content
variable the positive coefficient of IV Attitudes is enhanced therefore revealing an indirect
impact of entrepreneurial education on entrepreneurial intention via the attitudes
construct.
Table 2. Original logistic regression logit ei attitudes
Iteration 0: log likelihood = -257.2653
Iteration 1: log likelihood = -243.14322
Iteration 2: log likelihood = -242.90951
Iteration 3: log likelihood = -242.90881
Iteration 4: log likelihood = -242.90881
Ordered logistic regression Number of obs = 160
LR chi2(1) = 28.71
Prob > chi2 = 0.0000
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Log likelihood = -242.90881 Pseudo R2 = 0.0558
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ei | Coef. Std. Err. z P>|z| [95% Conf. Interval]
-------------+----------------------------------------------------------------
attitudes | 1.082781 .2136198 5.07 0.000 .6640942 1.501469
-------------+----------------------------------------------------------------
/cut1 | -.2994185 1.047676 -2.352825 1.753988
/cut2 | .8632122 .88332 -.8680633 2.594488
/cut3 | 2.932615 .866324 1.234651 4.630579
/cut4 | 4.763342 .9164756 2.967083 6.559602
/cut5 | 6.068997 .9506788 4.205701 7.932294
/cut6 | 7.033622 .9811592 5.110585 8.956659
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 3. . ologit attitudes eecontent
Iteration 0: log likelihood = -322.46716
Iteration 1: log likelihood = -319.30518
Iteration 2: log likelihood = -319.29613
Iteration 3: log likelihood = -319.29613
Ordered logistic regression Number of obs = 160
LR chi2(1) = 6.34
Prob > chi2 = 0.0118
Log likelihood = -319.29613 Pseudo R2 = 0.0098
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
attitudes | Coef. Std. Err. z P>|z| [95% Conf. Interval]
-------------+----------------------------------------------------------------
eecontent | .6610418 .2644835 2.50 0.012 .1426636 1.17942
-------------+----------------------------------------------------------------
/cut1 | -2.071668 1.155517 -4.336439 .1931031
/cut2 | -1.359244 1.046148 -3.409657 .6911686
/cut3 | -.6363032 .9875701 -2.571905 1.299299
/cut4 | .3154866 .9565545 -1.559326 2.190299
/cut5 | .7767127 .95192 -1.089016 2.642442
/cut6 | 1.520942 .9512149 -.3434049 3.385289
/cut7 | 2.407619 .9599067 .5262362 4.289001
/cut8 | 2.937851 .96938 1.037902 4.837801
/cut9 | 3.744519 .987697 1.808668 5.68037
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 4. Ordinal logistic regression logit ei attitudes ee content
Iteration 0: log likelihood = -257.2653
Iteration 1: log likelihood = -242.74767
Iteration 2: log likelihood = -242.50424
Iteration 3: log likelihood = -242.50353
Iteration 4: log likelihood = -242.50353
Ordered logistic regression Number of obs = 160
LR chi2(2) = 29.52
Prob > chi2 = 0.0000
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Log likelihood = -242.50353 Pseudo R2 = 0.0574
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ei | Coef. Std. Err. z P>|z| [95% Conf. Interval]
-------------+----------------------------------------------------------------
attitudes | 1.12653 .2194209 5.13 0.000 .6964726 1.556587
eecontent | -.2293616 .2549365 -0.90 0.068 -.729028 .2703048
-------------+----------------------------------------------------------------
/cut1 | -.9315723 1.262005 -3.405056 1.541912
/cut2 | .233759 1.127386 -1.975876 2.443394
/cut3 | 2.296272 1.117778 .1054678 4.487076
/cut4 | 4.129986 1.154021 1.868148 6.391825
/cut5 | 5.441496 1.176561 3.135479 7.747514
/cut6 | 6.410356 1.197857 4.0626 8.758112
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings of the above analysis the following conclusions were reached:
–
Attitudes towards entrepreneurship strongly impact the decision of students to
launch their business ventures;
–
Attitudes in turn are significantly influenced by the perceived relevance of the
entrepreneurship education content that students receive during their years of studies;
–
Although the impact of educational content itself on entrepreneurial intention is
not statistically significant, indirect impact of education via the attitudes construct can be
substantial.
Taking into account the above analysis the governments together with higher
educational institutions country-wide should carefully monitor and develop the most
appropriate entrepreneurship courses and programs aimed at increasing positive
attitudes towards entrepreneurship among students which in turn shall help to enhance
entrepreneurial development in Uzbekistan.
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