The Impact of Entrepreneurial Skills, Entrepreneurship Education Support Programmes and Environmental Factors on Entrepreneurial Behaviour

Abstract

Purpose: Entrepreneurial behaviour is influenced by various determinants, however, not many factors have been identified to determine an individual’s entrepreneurial intention and behaviour. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of environmental factors, entrepreneurship education support programs, and entrepreneurial skills in determining entrepreneurial behaviour of individuals. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study tests the influence of environmental factors, entrepreneurship education support programs, and entrepreneurial skills along with existing constructs of the TPB i.e., attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and entrepreneurial intention. Design/methodology/approach: Through a questionnaire, data was collected from 327 respondents of a private university in Bangladesh using simple random sampling. The hypotheses and conceptual model were tested using partial least squares (PLS) analysis. Findings: The results of the study validate the research model. Moreover, the findings reveal the significance of environmental factors, entrepreneurship education support programs, and entrepreneurial skills in determining entrepreneurial behaviour on the entrepreneurial intuition of individuals. However, a non-significant relationship was found between subjective norms to attitude towards entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. Originality/value: The outcomes are unique to this study which will be helpful to the policymakers and academicians to understand the entrepreneurial behaviour and role of various factors i.e., environmental factors, entrepreneurship education support programs, and entrepreneurial skills. This creates a new knowledge of theoretical implications and TPB by analyzing the three new variables using PLS-SEM.