THE INFLUENCE OF SELF-EFFICACY, MOTIVATION, AND INDEPENDENCE ON STUDENTS' ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS

Entrepreneurship education has been implemented in higher institutions in order to give exposure and develop students' skills and interest in business. Although entrepreneurship course is taught in many universities, researchers are still arguing whether entrepreneurship education is related to the intention to start a business. This study investigated the impact of self-efficacy, independence, and motivation on entrepreneurial intentions among university students. A total of 496 questionnaires were completed by students of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) who attended Fundamental of Entrepreneurship and Innovation during the academic year 2017/2018 as their compulsory subject. Using PLS-SEM, a two-step approach was used to analyze the data. Self-efficacy, independence, and motivation were found to significantly influence the students' intention to become entrepreneur, explaining 52% of the variance in intention to become entrepreneur. Additionally, the findings indicate that motivation is the key factor in the entrepreneurial intent of the students. These findings contribute to a better understanding of students' intention to become an entrepreneur, which is a necessary step to increase more university students to become job creators rather than job seekers. Thus, higher education institutions should revise the curriculum and establish measures to incorporate these three factors for enhancing entrepreneurship education programs at the university.