Assessing Entrepreneurial Characteristics of Undergraduates: A Case Study for Agribusiness Management Degree Program

Abstract

Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in stimulating economic growth and generating employment opportunities in all societies. One of the main objectives of the BSc Agribusiness Management (BSc ABM) degree program introduced by Faculty of Agriculture University of Ruhuna is to develop entrepreneurial characteristics (EnC) of undergraduates. Therefore, this study attempted to analyze the development of EnC of students and to identify the student's attitudes towards entrepreneurship. Twenty-seven, 41, 28, and 36 final, third, second, and first year BSc ABM undergraduates, respectively, were selected randomly as a sample to collect data. Data were collected by administrating a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and AN OVA were used to analyze the data. Final and third year students illustrated high EnC compared to first and second year students. Furthermore, third and final year students showed stronger managerial competencies and higher desire for independency than first and second year students while there were no significant differences between first year to final year students regarding key personal attributes such as creativity, need for achievement and self-confidence. Moreover, final year students possessed a highest risk taking ability among the sample. An attempt was made to identify the students' willingness for, new venture creation. It was observed that 41%, 68%, 29%, and 25% of final, third, second and first year undergraduates, respectively, preferred to start own businesses after the graduation. Majority preferred to find an occupation in an existing organization. The study will be supportive to recognize the attitudes among the undergraduates toward the entrepreneurship and will provide suggestions for increasing the role of universities in improving students' entrepreneurial characteristics and developing policies to inspire entrepreneurial initiatives among students.