ABSTRACT
The authors used Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior and Shapero’s entrepreneurial event model as well as entrepreneurial cognition theory to identify the relationship among entrepreneurial skills, self-efficacy, attitudes toward entrepreneurship, psychological traits, social norms, perceived desirability, social support, and entrepreneurial intentions. The authors defined the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention in agricultural students. The data were collected from a survey given to students at Iranian Azad University. The survey received 146 effective responses. Based on the findings from the structural equation model, the order of effect of latent variables on entrepreneurial intention was entrepreneurial skill (63%), self-efficacy (44%), attitude toward entrepreneurship (38%), psychological traits (11%), and social norms (0.08%).
Results and discussion
The research results showed that entrepreneurial skill has the strongest effect on entrepreneurial intention, which fits the findings of Fairlie (2004), Raijman (2001), and Oosterbeek, Van Praag, and Ijsselstein (2010). One of the reasons for graduates’ unemployment seems to be adaptability lack between graduates abilities needed by labor and productive unites (Zamani & Azizi, 2006). Lack of entrepreneurship skills among agricultural students and graduates is another reason for unemployment in developing countries. According to Zamani and Azizi (2006), as a result of poor practical abilities of agricultural graduates, irrelevancy of university subjects, and curricula with labor market needs, it is becoming increasingly difficult for agricultural graduates find jobs or start their own business. The qualitative study revealed that many agricultural students lacked skills in critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and complex problem solving. From students’ perspectives increased entrepreneurial skills such as production of new services and goods skills, networking and communication skills, marketing and business skills, recognizing opportunities skills, basic knowledge about entrepreneurship, and dialogue skills have positive effect on students’ entrepreneurial intention. The importance of entrepreneurial skills may be explained from the fact that both entrepreneurial intentions and behaviors can be conceptualized as functions of entrepreneurs’ personal abilities. Background and skills accumulated by each entrepreneur are, in fact, predictors of entrepreneurial activities. In-depth interviews with successful graduated students showed that a high level of managerial skills is a requirement for individuals involved in high-technology firms and procedural skills are fundamental in knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial environments.
