Acta Universitatis Danubius. Œconomica, Vol 12, No 5 (2016)

Abstract

Objectives: Understanding the levels ofentrepreneurial intention among university students is particularly critical inAfrica where the scourge of unemployment is profound.  Alive to this, governments and well-meaninginstitutions are investing in entrepreneurship development, the gains of whichremain to be seen leading to an ebbing of hope in the youth population. To thisend the study investigates the entrepreneurial intention of university studentsin South Africa with an aim to reveal differences arising from study streams.  Priorwork: The study consequently extends knowledge by examining entrepreneurialintention within the context of an unemployment-ridden society while leveragingon the theories of planned behaviour. Approach:The study executed from a positivist standpoint surveyed 238 students andquantitatively analysed the data principally to test deductively derivedhypothesised relationships. Results:The empirical study concludes that there is indeed a difference inentrepreneurial intention levels between the two groups. Empirical in nature,this quantitative study and concludes that there is indeed a difference inentrepreneurial intention levels between the two groups. Value: Interventions aimed at enhancing entrepreneurship can onlygenerate desirable results if the entrepreneurial intentions of the targetpopulation are known. This would ensure that the right type of interventionsare created and delivered to specific groups as the ‘one-size-fits-all’approach continues to fail.  Implication: Serving a clearly heterogeneouspopulation with seemingly homogenous interventions appears faulty and thisreality needs to inform pro-entrepreneurship initiatives in future.