Entrepreneurial characteristics amongst university students: Some insights for entrepreneurship education and training in Turkey

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to explore the entrepreneurship profile of Turkish university students and to make an evaluation for their entrepreneurship orientation by comparing them with non‐entrepreneurially inclined students.Design/methodology/approach – In this study, six traits, namely need for achievement, locus of control, risk taking propensity, tolerance for ambiguity, innovativeness and self‐confidence, are used to define the entrepreneurial profile of students. The study is conducted on a random sample of fourth year university students (n = 400) from two Turkish universities. The question “what are you planning to do after graduation?” was asked to students in order to discriminate between those who are entrepreneurially inclined and those who are not. Respondents who have a response saying that “I'm planning to form my own business venture” are accepted as potential entrepreneurs. Then, the entrepreneurial traits of these students are subjected to a comparative analysis with othe...

[1]  Ove C. Hansemark.  The effects of an entrepreneurship programme on Need for Achievement and Locus of Control of reinforcement , 1998 .

[2]  J. Owens,et al.  Enabling the emergent entrepreneurial organisation to develop new products , 2002 .

[3]  G. Sadri,et al.  An Empirical Comparison of Entrepreneurs and Employees: Implications for Innovation , 1997 .

[4]  J. Rotter.  Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. , 1966, Psychological monographs.

[5]  C. Lapavitsas,et al.  The Recent Turkish Crisis: Another Step Toward Free Market Authoritarianism , 2001 .

[6]  Jw English,et al.  A contemporary approach to entrepreneurship education , 2004 .

[7]  L. Louw,et al.  Entrepreneurial traits of undergraduate students at selected South African tertiary institutions , 2003 .

[8]  Hannu Littunen.  Entrepreneurship and the characteristics of the entrepreneurial personality , 2000 .

[9]  M. Kirton.  A reanalysis of two scales of tolerance of ambiguity. , 1981, Journal of personality assessment.

[10]  Stanley Cromie.  Assessing entrepreneurial inclinations: Some approaches and empirical evidence , 2000 .

[11]  A. Sagie,et al.  Achievement motive and entrepreneurial orientation: a structural analysis , 1999 .

[12]  J. Miner.  Testing a Psychological Typology of Entrepreneurship Using Business Founders , 2000 .

[13]  James W. Carland,et al.  Entrepreneurial Dispositions and Goal Orientations: A Comparative Exploration of United States and Russian Entrepreneurs , 2003 .

[14]  A. Rauch,et al.  Innovativeness and initiative as mediators between achievement orientation and venture performance , 2000 .

[15]  C. Leone,et al.  The Measurement of Locus of Control: Assessing More Than Meets the Eye? , 2000, The Journal of psychology.

[16]  Jr. A. P. Mac Donald,et al.  Revised Scale for Ambiguity Tolerance: Reliability and Validity , 1970 .

[17]  Chao-chuan Chen,et al.  Does entrepreneurial self-efficacy distinguish entrepreneurs from managers? , 1998 .

[18]  Allan Gibb,et al.  Small business development in Central and Eastern Europe—Opportunity for a rethink? , 1993 .

[19]  Esteban Fernández,et al.  Characteristics of Managers as Determinants of Entrepreneurial Orientation: Some Spanish Evidence , 2000 .

[20]  H. Keith Hunt,et al.  An Attitude Approach to the Prediction of Entrepreneurship , 1991 .

[21]  Entrepreneurship Education and Research outside North America , 1991 .

[22]  Susan T. Rydell.  Tolerance of Ambiguity and Semantic Differential Ratings , 1966, Psychological reports.

[23]  Jeffrey W. Alstete.  On becoming an entrepreneur: an evolving typology , 2002 .

[24]  Andrew Zacharakis.  Entrepreneurial Entry into Foreign Markets: A Transaction Cost Perspective , 1997 .

[25]  S. Budner.  Intolerance of ambiguity as a personality variable. , 1962, Journal of personality.

[26]  Susan T. Rydell,et al.  Measurement and Some Correlates of Need-Cognition , 1966, Psychological reports.

[27]  M Riipinen,et al.  Extrinsic occupational needs and the relationship between need for achievement and locus of control. , 1994, The Journal of psychology.

[28]  R. Brockhaus.  Risk Taking Propensity of Entrepreneurs , 1980 .

[29]  M. Dent,et al.  The Russian entrepreneur: a study of psychological characteristics , 1996 .

[30]  Stephen L. Mueller,et al.  Culture and entrepreneurial potential: A nine country study of locus of control and innovativeness , 2001 .

[31]  Stephen L. Mueller,et al.  A Case for Comparative Entrepreneurship: Assessing the Relevance of Culture , 2000 .

[32]  H. Koh.  Testing hypotheses of entrepreneurial characteristics: A study of Hong Kong MBA students , 1996 .

[33]  Charles W. Hofer,et al.  Theorizing about Entrepreneurship , 1992 .

[34]  See Liang Foo,et al.  Moderating effects of tolerance for ambiguity and risktaking propensity on the role conflict-perceived performance relationship: Evidence from singaporean entrepreneurs , 1997 .

[35]  Steve Williams,et al.  Determinants of managerial risk : Exploring personality and cultural influences , 1999 .

[36]  James W. Carland,et al.  A proclivity for entrepreneurship: A comparison of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and corporate managers , 1999 .

[37]  W. Gartner.  Some Suggestions for Research on Entrepreneurial Traits and Characteristics , 1989 .

[38]  John L. Thompson.  The world of the entrepreneur – a new perspective , 1999 .

[39]  D. A. Kirby,et al.  Entrepreneurship Education: Can Business Schools Meet the Challenge? , 2004 .

[40]  R. Ronstadt.  The Educated Entrepreneurs: A New Era of Entrepreneurial Education is Beginning , 1985 .

[41]  Colm O'Gorman,et al.  What is “enterprise education”? An analysis of the objectives and methods of enterprise education programmes in four European countries , 2004 .

[42]  Alistair R. Anderson,et al.  Entrepreneurship education within the enterprise culture , 1999, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research.

[43]  Amy L. Pablo,et al.  Reconceptualizing the Determinants of Risk Behavior , 1992 .