Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Intention: A Case Study of University Students in Vietnam

This paper explores the direct relationships between perceived support, attitude toward entrepreneurship, institutional environment, entrepreneurship education, risk-taking, and entrepreneurial intention. A survey of 1,000 students in Vietnam was conducted through face-to-face structured interviews. The confirmatory factor analysis and technique of structural equation modeling were used to explore relationships among latent constructs. The results show that entrepreneurship education, attitude, and social norms positively affect entrepreneurial intention. The findings of this study suggest that attitude has the strongest effect on entrepreneurial intention. More specifically, when students have an attitude toward entrepreneurship, they are more likely to start their own businesses. Research also showed that students are more likely to start a business when they find support from those around them and the knowledge and skills from the university. In contrast, the remaining factors, including perceived support, institutional environment, and risk-taking, do not affect entrepreneurial intention. The reasons for this result are that students cannot accurately assess risks due to lack of entrepreneurial knowledge, and start-up policies in Vietnam are currently focusing on financial support, but not on many other aspects, so that it may lead to start-up policies not being appreciated. The results provide implications for policymakers and educators for entrepreneurship development.