Entrepreneurial intention among university students of a developing economy: the mediating role of access to finance and entrepreneurship program

Abstract

This study addresses Bangladesh’s unemployment problem and its youth’s limited entrepreneurial aspiration focusing on critical factors that influence entrepreneurial intentions among university students in Bangladesh. Recognizing universities’ role in fostering entrepreneurship, the study aims to identify these determinants, bridging a gap in literature in the context of Bangladesh. Built upon an extended theory of planned behavior, the study incorporates ‘access to finance’ and ‘entrepreneurship program’ as mediators. This framework examines the relationships of ‘attitude’, ‘subjective norms’, ‘perceived behavioral control’, ‘entrepreneurship program’, ‘access to finance’, and their collective impact on entrepreneurial intentions. Utilizing stratified random sampling, the researchers collected data from 394 students across 23 selected Bangladeshi universities offering entrepreneurship programs encompassing Faculty of Business & Entrepreneurship and Faculty of Science & Engineering. The study employed Structural equation modeling (SEM) for analyzing the data. The findings revealed that there were positive relationships between ‘entrepreneurial intention’ and ‘attitude’, ‘subjective norms’, ‘perceived behavioral control’, ‘entrepreneurship program’, and ‘access to finance’. The findings have practical implications for Bangladesh’s government and educational institutes when it comes to promoting entrepreneurship programs extensively. The empirical results clearly demonstrate that the integration of access to finance and practical entrepreneurship programs significantly boosts the entrepreneurial aspirations of university students, encouraging them to pursue entrepreneurship as a career path. This, in turn, contributes to the advancement of economic sustainability in Bangladesh. These outcomes are consistent with the overarching aims of Sustainable Development Goal 8, which strives to foster continuous economic growth, generate employment prospects, and ensure decent work opportunities, particularly for the youth.

Keywords:

• Access to finance
• entrepreneurship program
• attitude
• subjective norm
• perceived behavioral control
• entrepreneurial intention

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Pablo Ruiz, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

SUBJECTS:

• Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurial Finance
• Higher Education Management

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Proprietary tools statement

A copyright license was obtained to use SmartPLS 3.2.9.

Data availability statement

Data available in article.

Additional information

Funding

The research is funded by Institute for Advanced Research Publication Grant of United International University, Ref. No.: IAR-2024-Pub-013 and Daffodil International University.

Notes on contributors

Mohammad Shibli Shahriar

Dr. Mohammad Shibli Shahriar serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Business Administration at Daffodil International University. Additionally, he holds the position of Director of the MBA program in the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship. With an educational background that spans Malaysia, Bangladesh, the UK, and France, his areas of academic specialization and interest include employability, entrepreneurship, business communication, and marketing. Dr. Shahriar has an impressive publication record, with 22 research papers and 10 research monographs published in various national and international peer-reviewed journals.

Md Sharif Hassan

Md Sharif Hassan has completed his Ph.D. from the Faculty of Business & Communication at Universiti Malaysia Perlis. He is a Lecturer at the Department of Business Administration of the University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh. He has published many journal articles indexing in Scopus and WOS. His research interests include FinTech, Technology Management, Behavioral Finance, and Information Systems.

Md Aminul Islam

Dr. Md Aminul Islam is a Professor in Finance at the Department of Business in the Faculty of Business and Communication of Universiti Malaysia Perlis. He received his bachelor’s degree from the International Islamic University Malaysia; his MBA and Doctor of Philosophy from Universiti Sains Malaysia. He also completed an advanced higher-education teaching diploma from the Nottingham Trent University. He has authored and co-authored about 170 journal papers and 64 conference papers. He has also authored and co-authored five books and three book chapters. He is a certified trainer of the Human Resource Development Corporation of Malaysia. He is a member of the Asian Academy of Management, the Malaysian Institute of Management, and an associate member of the Malaysian Finance Association. He is a visiting Professor of Ubudiyyah University Indonesia, Daffodil International University, and East Delta University. His research areas of interest include FinTech, Blockchain, Econometrics, Islamic Banking, Sukuk, and Management.

Farid Ahammad Sobhani

DR. Farid Ahammad Sobhani is a Professor at United International University, Bangladesh. He completed his Ph.D. in corporate governance from Universiti Sains Malaysia. He is the president of Bangladesh Society for Private University Academics (BSPUA) and vice-president of Federation of Bangladesh Human Resource Organizations (FBHRO). His area of research interest includes: HRM, Corporate Governance, Leadership, CSR, and Accounting.

Md Touhidul Islam

Md Touhidul Islam is a lecturer in Marketing at the School of Business Administration (SOB) at East Delta University (EDU). He earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, majoring in Marketing, from Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). Subsequently, he obtained his master’s degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia. His research areas of interest include consumer behavior, social media marketing, international trade & artificial Intelligence in Marketing.