The Intentions of Chinese Undergraduate Students towards Entrepreneurship as a Career Choice

The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

Andrea M Krause Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship November 2008

The Intentions of Undergraduate Chinese students towards Entrepreneurship as a Career Choice

Written and prepared by Andrea M Krause Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship

November 2008 “All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Andrea Krause.”

Copyright © 2008 Andrea Krause This publication is published for information and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Any use of the information contained in this publication is the sole responsibility of the reader.

Contact: Ms Andrea M Krause [Tel] +86 150 108 708 78 [Email] andrea@fyse.org

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TABLE OF CONTENT

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Defining entrepreneurship & entrepreneurs 1. 2. Youth and graduate employment challenge 1.3. Current state of graduate entrepreneurship research 1.3. Career choice making 1.3.2. Developmental theories 1.3.3 Social learning theory 1.3.4. Intention theory

9 11 13 15 15 15 17

PART II: YES OR NO? DESIRABLITY 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.3 4.1.4.

Motivational Factors The impact of Entrepreneurs and the Image of entrepreneurship The influence of family The impact of entrepreneurial knowledge

19 21 22 23

PART III: YES OR NO? FEASABILITY 4.2.1 De-motivational factors 4.2.2 Perceived institutional support

28 29

PART IV: ENTREPRENEUR: YES OR NO? INTENTIONS 4.3.1 Employment choice 4.3.2 Intention to start a business 4.3.3 The impact of entrepreneurship course participation

32 34 36

PART V: CONCLUSION Recommendations

42

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Despite an annual economic growth rate of 9 percent China is currently experiencing an annual employment gap, affecting increasingly the rising numbers of highly educated university graduates. In this light the paper examines the current perception among Chinese university students of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs in China as well as the entrepreneurial intentions of them. While many past studies have highlighted the entrepreneurial intentions among students in Western Europe and America, information about an Asian perspective are very limited and information about Chinese entrepreneurial intentions are still not to be found in the current literature.

Results generated through a survey conducted in summer 2008 indicate that Chinese students like their European and American counterparts exhibit a high entrepreneurial desire, with many students preferring a career as entrepreneur over organizational employment. However, a perceived lack of knowledge and inadequate access to seed funding are impacting their entrepreneurial intentions negatively. The results generate significant indications for the future facilitation of graduate entrepreneurship in China: China’s undergraduate students desire to become entrepreneurs regardless of the family background and a support structure including entrepreneurship courses and incubation services should be provided to them in order to raise the perceived entrepreneurial feasibility, which seems to be the crucial points of not setting up their own business after graduation.

Therefore we strongly advocate focusing efforts on:  Implementing and promoting measures to raise awareness of an entrepreneurial career among students including profiling of young entrepreneurs for role modeling  Raising the number of entrepreneurship courses and the awareness of existing programs  Increasing the number of incubation centers with specific entrepreneurship focus e.g. social entrepreneurship hubs, Art Hubs, Technology hubs etc. to channel expertise and supporting mechanisms

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ABOUT THE RESEARCH

Introducing the research framework

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RESEARCH BACKGROUND

The increasing global youth employment crisis results in 64 million young people not being able to secure employment. (Macaulay 2007, Curtain 2000) Encouraging university graduates to become entrepreneurs, to create jobs for themselves and others and to positive stimulate their local economies emerged as a new avenue to tackle this challenge. An increasing number of research in Western Europe and the United States explored the entrepreneurial perception of university students, how students could be encouraged to become entrepreneurs and which support mechanism most effectively support the sustainability of their ventures. Entrepreneurship Research in China is still in its infancy, and the entrepreneurial intentions of university students are largely unexplored. However China is currently not able to provide enough jobs for its increasing number of university graduates, and event with an annual economic growth rate of 9 percent only 7 to 8 million jobs every year can be generated by the Chinese government’s central policies’, creating an employment gap in the range of 14 to 15 million jobs. (Zhang 2004) It therefore becomes crucial to explore how entrepreneurship as a career choice is perceived by university students in order to encourage them to set up their own ventures in times of limited employment opportunities. As research by Luethje and Franke (2003) found, graduate Entrepreneurship can positively impact labor markets by creating employment and economic impact, something that is of urgent need as China’s employment gap in is on the rise.

Before encouraging graduate entrepreneurship in China it is crucial to understand Chinese student’s career choice making in regards to entrepreneurship, to explore the current image of entrepreneurship among them and their intentions to become an entrepreneur. And while some researchers argue that intentions do not imply that the individual finally sets up a business, it is widely regarded as the most predictive indicator of planned behavior and therefore the entrepreneurial intention of Chinese university students are the most reliable indicator what China could expect from its university students in terms of future entrepreneurial activity.

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RESEARCH BACKGROUND

The contribution of this research Globally the number of unemployed youth is increasing and despite an impressive economic growth of 9 percent over the last decade China facing a rising graduate employment challenge.

An increasing number of tertiary education graduates are unable to secure suitable jobs and

are

facing

unemployment

or

underemployment, which potentially poses a

“We are wasting an important part of the energy and talent of the most educated youth generation the world has ever had. Enlarging the chances of young people to find and keep decent work is absolutely critical to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals.”

Juan Somavi, Head International Labor Organization

social challenge to the society. (Rucai 2004; ChinaCSR 2007) Graduate entrepreneurship is portrayed as a solution to the youth unemployment crisis in many countries such as the United States and the European Union, and could provide one path for the Chinese government to decrease the pressure of creating millions of suitable jobs for graduates by encouraging them to create their own jobs as well as employment for further employees of their venture.

Therefore this research is crucial as: 1. It is the first study of Mainland Chinese students’ intentions towards entrepreneurship as a career choice.

2. Many universities in China are integrating entrepreneurship education in their programs. This research provides essential input to develop programs and support services that meet the needs of the students.

3. Students with high level of education are perceived to be the source for highgrowth companies. Therefore it is crucial to understand the target group’s intentions and needs to effectively channel resources.

4. China’s graduate employment gap needs to be filled through entrepreneurship and bold individuals creating ventures that provide employment to others. Therefore it is crucial to understand how Chinese students can positively impact the stressed labor market by creating employment and economic impact.

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PART I: INTRODUCTION

The case for graduate entrepreneurship The need for entrepreneurship in China Career Choice Making

Exploring the relevance of entrepreneurial intentions among students

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DEFINING ENTREP RENEUR SHIP

In order to investigate youth entrepreneurship especially in the Asian context a definition of the scope of entrepreneurship is required. However entrepreneurship is often considered an “illdefined subject”, (OECD 1998; Beugelsdijk & Noorderhaven 2005) as no universally accepted definition for “entrepreneurship”, “entrepreneur” or “youth entrepreneurship” has been brought forward since the subject of entrepreneurship has emerged as an active research field.

For a long period of time, Trait theories dominated entrepreneurship research, assuming that entrepreneurs can be distinguished from other individuals based on specific common traits including risk- bearing and uncertainty, the ability to identify and pursue opportunities, perseverance, resilience, pro-activeness and high internal locus of control.

(McClelland 1961; Rotter 1966; Schumpeter 1934; Stevenson & Timmons 1983; Brockhaus 1987; Robinson et al 1991; Hisrich and Peters 1995; Steward 1996; Lumpkin and Erdogan 1999; Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud 2000) Nevertheless various authors argued against the applicability of trait theories. Shapero pointed out, that an individual can have all the necessary traits, without having the intention to become an entrepreneur (Krueger, Reilly & Carsrud 2000), and Timmons and Spinelli (2007) highlighted that the possession of assumingly entrepreneurial traits does not necessary makes this person an entrepreneur.

Apart from Trait theories entrepreneurship research has emphasized on 3 broad themes to define entrepreneurship (a) the creation of a new enterprise, (b) the concept of innovation, and (c) the creation of economic wealth for the entrepreneur and society at large.

Many Authors emphasize the creation of a new enterprise as the essence of entrepreneurship. (Say 1803; Mill 1844, Gartner 1993; Zimmerer and Scarborough 1998; Nijkamp 2003) However, it is crucial that entrepreneurs are clearly distinguished from small- business owners (Carland et al 1984; Drucker 1993) and the self-employed based on management style, resource utilization and growth intention. (Llisterri et al 2006; the Danish Agency for Trade and Industry 2000, The National Institute of Open Schooling; School 2006) Other argue against the creation of a new enterprise as essence of Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

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DEFINING ENTREP RENEUR SH IP

entrepreneurs by stating that entrepreneurship does not require business ownership as long as the individual organizes and manages a business undertaking and assumes a risk for the sake of profit. (Ray Foundation 2008: Lecture 2) Schumpeter (1934), Lamancusa (1998) and Davidsson (2005) concentrate on the concept of innovation. The fundamental motive of Entrepreneurship is therefore to introduce new products and services or enter new markets with an established business. Begley and Tan (2001) argue that exactly this repeated emphasis on the realization of innovative ideas and the idolization of innovative icons such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs might discourage some people who lack the innovative idea to become entrepreneurs, constituting a significant loss the society.

”The most valuable 100 people to bring into a deteriorating society would not be economist, or politicians, or engineers, but rather 100 entrepreneurs.”

(Maslow)

And lastly it is assumed that entrepreneurship fosters economic growth through the creation of wealth and employment. (Menger 1871; Schumpeter 1934; Berger 1991; Foelster 2000; Davidsson 2005; Brooksbank and Jones-Evans 2005; Hisrich et al 2008)

For the further work in this paper we will apply the definition of entrepreneur as follows: An entrepreneur is an individual who establishes and manages a business for the purpose of profit and with the intention of business growth thought the application of innovative strategic practices. A graduate entrepreneur is an individual who establishes a business latest 3 years after graduating from higher education.

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YOUTH AND GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGE

To analyze graduate entrepreneurship it is crucial to develop an understanding of the global employment market for young people and especially university graduates.

Youth and graduate employment challenge According to the ILO there are more than 1 Billion young people globally between the ages of 15- 24years. 85 percent of them live in developing countries and around 60 percent of them live in Asia. (Curtain 2000; Hoikkala et al 2003) For a growing number of young people employment is precarious and may not provide a sufficient income. An estimated 64 million young people are unemployed and while the global youth population grew at a rate of 10.5 percent over the past decade, youth employment only grew by 0.2 percent, highlighting the increasing disparity in the labor market. (Macaulay 2007, Curtain 2000) In East Asia more than 7 percent of the available youth labour force, or 11 million young people were unemployed in 2003, an increase of 21 percent from 1993. In South Asia 17 million young people or 13 percent were without work in 2003, also an increase of 21 percent from 1993. (ILO 2003) (Table 1) Table 1: Unemployment rates: Total and youth, by region, 2003 (percentage)

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YOUTH AND GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGE

Contributing Factors to youth employment Various factors contribute to the youth employment challenge. Firstly, the graduate employment market has been hollowed out by qualification inflation whereby an increasing number of young people obtain university degrees while the demand for those educated workers is diminishing. In China enrollment at tertiary education institution has soared from 2.18 million college and university students in 1992 to 16 million students in 2002. In 2004 2.8 million graduates entered the employment market and this number is expected to rise to 5.59 million graduates in 2008.

However, the increasing graduate numbers are not met by a matching number of suitable employment positions. (Rucai 2004; ChinaCSR 2007) The Chinese Ministry of Education has published an overall first-time employment rate of university graduates at 64.7 percent, with unemployed university graduates of 0.75 million, 0.99 million and 1.2 million for the three years of 2003 to 2005 respectively. Even with an annual economic growth rate of 8 percent only 7 to 8 million jobs every year mainly in manufacturing requiring low-level qualifications can be generated, creating an employment gap in the range of 14 to 15 million jobs. (Zhang 2004)

The impact of youth unemployment As many countries despite positive growth rates cannot create adequate jobs to integrate all young people into the economy, youth entrepreneurship has emerged as alternative solution. Advocates of youth entrepreneurship argue that it integrates unemployed youth into the labor market and tackles poverty through the creation of jobs and stimulation of local economies. (Chigunta 2002) It is also is seen as powerful tool to overcome the psychological impacts of long-term unemployment among youth. If young people cannot secure employment and fall into long-term unemployed they can suffer from a range of symptoms such as low- self-esteem, diminished levels of wellbeing and isolation from peers. (Macaulay 2007) Therefore generating employment for young people not only provides them with a livelihood and fosters civic responsibility and social justice, but can also prevent bad decision resulting in unwanted pregnancies, HIV and Aids and involvement with drugs or crime. (Macaulay 2007; Hoikkala et al 2003) Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

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CUR RENT RESEARCH STATE: GRADUATE ENTRPR ENEURSHIP

The current state of Graduate Entrepreneurship research The current state of student intentions towards entrepreneurship has been researched by a number of studies, especially focusing on students from Europe and the United States.

(Tkachev and Kolvereid 1999; Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud 2000; Henderson and Robertson 2000; Peterman and Kennedy 2003; Luethje and Franke 2003; Wang and Wong 2004; Audet 2004; Veciana, Aponte and Urbano 2005; Choi, Kuppusamy and Jusoh 2005; Pillis and Meilich 2006; Souitaris, Zerbinati and Al-Laham 2007; Martinez, Mora and Vila 2007) Entrepreneurial Desire As one of the earliest studies on graduate entrepreneurship Scott and Twomey found 1988 that only 24.8 percent of US university students aspired to become entrepreneurs.

However, since their findings a number of studies have highlighted a steady increase in the percentage of students aspiring to become entrepreneurs. Venciana, Aponte and Urbano (2005) found in their cross cultural study that 92 percent of students from Puerto Rico and 74 percent of students from Catalonia considered it desirable to create a new company. In the United Kingdom Robertson, Price and Wilkinson (2004) found that nearly 50 percent of students intended to enter self-employment within five years of graduation.

Impact of Gender on entrepreneurial desire Veciana et al (2005) highlighted a positive relationship between student’s gender and the perception of new venture desirability, whereby the desirability among male students was statistically significant higher than the female desire. Wang and Wong (2004) found that the gender factor is the most crucial factor determining students’ interest in entrepreneurship. In Latin America three out of five young entrepreneurs are male (Llisterri 2006) and in middle-income nations men are 75 percent more likely to be entrepreneurs than women. (Minnitti, Arenius, & Langowitz 2005) Noteworthy is the perception of entrepreneurs among students. Pillis and Meilich (2006) found, that 82 percent of students in their study perceived entrepreneurs as male and that female entrepreneur were perceived to be less self- reliant, intuitive, sociable and achievement oriented than their male counterparts.

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CUR RENT RESEARCH STATE: GRADUATE ENTRPR ENEURSHIP

Educational background of entrepreneurs Researching the education level of entrepreneurs Llisterie et al (2006) highlighted that most young entrepreneurs driven by opportunity had at least finished secondary school (94 percent) with more than half completing university education. However, in East Asia 43 percent of young entrepreneurs only completed secondary education and just 21 percent have a university degree.

Wang and Wong (2004) emphasized that in Singapore graduates of Chinese origin are less likely to start their own business, resulting in a graduate start-up rate of only 5.3 percent in 1990. One reason is the abundance of jobs for graduates and the opportunity cost of human capital, e.g. that higher education leads to increased career opportunities in large existing firms.

The impact of entrepreneurship courses on student’s entrepreneurial desire Various studies supported the positive impact of entrepreneurship courses on entrepreneurial intentions among student participants: Robertson and Henderson (2000) found, that the participation of undergraduate students in an entrepreneurship course increased their desire to start their own business. 67 percent of students who participated in such course, but only 5 percent of those who didn’t participated desired to become an entrepreneur. Similar Hornaday and Vesper (1982) found that 23.7 percent of students who studied a single course in entrepreneurship started their own business either fulltime or part-time after graduation compared to 17.7 percent of students who did not take part and Conner (1985) and Clark, Davis and Harnish (1984) established that 67 percent and 76 percent of participants in entrepreneurship programs subsequently started their own business. To distinguish exactly how entrepreneurship courses affect the entrepreneurial intention Peterman and Kennedy (2003) unveiled that the exposure to those programs increased the desirability to start their own business, but had no impact on the perceived feasibility.

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CAREER CHOICE MAKING

Career choice making The increase in the entrepreneurial intentions of students raises the questions how and why students make certain career choices especially in regard to an entrepreneurial career. Those findings could be applied to encourage more graduates to choose entrepreneurship as a career and therefore could provide the foundation towards tackling the youth employment crisis.

Development Theories – career choice making as opportunity identification process Development Theories approaches career choice making from a developmental angle, assuming that career making is a cognitive process in which professional beliefs, attitudes and intentions evolve as knowledge and experiences are processed,. Therefore an individual’s career choice is shaped through the interaction with its environment.

Ginzberg et al (1951) and Super (1954) argue that career choice is formed during a process whereby an individual passes through different life stages in which he becomes aware of opportunities and selects the most preferred choice. Lent, Brown and Hackett’s (1987) add that various intervening learning experiences further shape one’s abilities and redefines career choices. This theories leaves room for every individual to become an entrepreneur as it assumes that entrepreneurs are made, and not born as assumed in trait theories.

Social learning theory – career choice making through interaction with the environment Krumboltz, Mitchell and Jones’s (1976) social learning theory, as behaviorist-based theory, argues that career choices are made through the positive and consistent reinforcement from occupational role models. They and Shapero and Sokol (1982) argue that especially the family plays a powerful role in establishing an entrepreneurial desire in students. In Malaysia Choy, Kuppusamy and Jusoh (2005) found that the perception of the family towards entrepreneurship as a career choice had the largest impact on the entrepreneurial intention of students.

The parent role model theory “asserts that persons with self- employed parents are more likely to start their own business due to the example of their parents” (Wang and Wong: 165), whereby parents act as occupational role models giving their children “education at the dinner table”. (Kourilsky and Esfandiari 1997) Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

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CAREER CHOICE MAKING

Choi, Kuppusamy and Jusoh (2005) found that Malaysian students with entrepreneurial parents had a higher entrepreneurial intention than students from non- entrepreneurial background.

Especially self- employed fathers seem to have an encouraging influence for students.

(Scott and Twomey 1988; Hakim 1988; De Wit and Van Winden 1989; Brown 1990; Crant 1996; Wang and Wong 2004; Martinez, Mora and Vila 2007) For example in Malaysia Othman, Gazhali and Sung (2006) found that 46,7 percent of entrepreneurs had an entrepreneurial father. However, the impact of the family role model also seems to be more influential in some cultural backgrounds as Llisteri et al (2006) highlighted that young entrepreneurs in East Asia stem more frequently from non-entrepreneurial families while in Latin America entrepreneurial family background is more prevalent.

The second model explaining family influence on career choice making is the family support model. The model asserts that students with self- employed parents are more likely to start their own business because of the financial and social support their families are able to provide. Dolton and Makepeace (1990) observed a positive relationship between higher social status and self-employment rate among UK graduates. However, Matthew and Moser (1996) illustrated that the family background factor seems to diminish 5 years after graduation and Wang and Wong (2004) observed that the “early family role model and business knowledge rather than family income contribute to the interest level towards entrepreneurship.� (Wang and Wong: 171) Intention theory Recent literature emphasized that entrepreneurship is an intentional process, whereby intentions refer to the planned behavior of starting an enterprise including opportunity identification, the development of a business plan and the assembling of resources. Even if an external trigger such the emergence of a business opportunity may finally spur an individual to the entrepreneurial act, the individual often exhibited a long term interest and desire to be an entrepreneur. (Bird 1988; Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud 2000) Therefore intentions are verified to be the single best predictor of future planned behavior, as strong intentions to become an entrepreneur should eventually result in an Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

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CAREER CHOI CE MAKING

attempt to start a business. (Baumgartner and Yi 1989; Kim and Hunter 1993; Bagozzi, Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud 2000; Souitaris et al 2007) Ajzens Theory of planned behavior (TPB) and Shapero’s Model of entrepreneurial events (SEE) have emerged in entrepreneurship research as the two most commonly cited intention-based models aiming to predict entrepreneurial behavior. Both models assume that the act of entrepreneurship is grounded in the individual’s perceived feasibility and desirability of starting a business. Desirability is the perception of the personal attractiveness of starting a business, whereby feasibility implies the degree to which an individual feels capable of acting on that desire.

As a counter argument Vesper (1983), Learned (1992), Aldrich (1999) and Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud (2000) suggest that there is no direct correlation between the intention of venture creation and actual behavior. Individuals might have the intention to become an entrepreneur without acting on the intention because the propensity to act has never taken place, the perceived feasibility is negative or the social environment is not favorable towards the intention.

The difference between entrepreneurial intentions and actual entrepreneurial behavior has emerged repeatedly in previous studies: In Norway 43 percent of students preferred a career as entrepreneur, however only 7 percent of respondents estimated their chance to do so as more than 75 percent. (Kolvereid 1996) In a Survey among final year undergraduate students in Singapore Doh et al (1996) found that 61.8 percent of students had the intention to start their own business but Ghazali et al (1995) discovered that only 8.6 percent of the students in Singapore actually started a business. Robertson, Price and Wilkinson (2004) revealed that 50 percent of students in the United Kingdom intended to set up their business but only 2.9 percent of first-degree graduates and 6.1 percent of Masters degree graduates actually became entrepreneurs. (National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship 2005) Martinez, Mora and Vila (2007) found that from the 40,000 European graduates surveyed 4 years after graduation 91 percent became employees and only 4 percent entrepreneurs despite the overwhelming literature pointing to a high entrepreneurial intention among European students.

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PART II: YES OR NO? DESIRABLITY

Entrepreneurial desire Motivational Factors Image of Entrepreneurship Impact of knowledge Exploring the Entrepreneurial intentions of Chinese students – Part I

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ENTREPRENEURIAL DESIRE

The data reveals that 54 percent of the study’s participants perceive a career as an entrepreneur as either desirable or very desirable while only 11 percent perceive it as undesirable or very undesirable. The results indicate a similar desire among university students as previous studies including Price and Wilkinson (2004) findings in the United Kingdom, Doh et al (1996) and Wang and Wong’s (2004) findings in Singapore; 50 percent, 62 percent and 51 percent of students respectively had the desire to start their own business.

Lau, Shaffer and Au (2007) refer to the content of career success criterion as a critical factor why individuals embark on a certain career. The perception of career success can be split into objective (extrinsic) career success, including observable, comparable and measurable criterion including income, status and prestige. As well as subjective (intrinsic) career success, which refer to a person’s individual appraisal of their career experience based on personal standards. In the context of Chinese society the authors found that entrepreneurs are mainly driven by objective motivations.

The data reveals that 54 percent of the study’s participants perceive a career as an entrepreneur as either desirable or very desirable while only 11 percent perceive it as undesirable or very undesirable. The results indicate a similar desire among university students as previous studies including Price and Wilkinson (2004) findings in the United Kingdom, Doh et al (1996) and Wang and Wong’s (2004) findings in Singapore; 50 percent, 62 percent and 51 percent of students respectively had the desire to start their own business.

Lau, Shaffer and Au (2007) refer to the content of career success criterion as a critical factor why individuals embark on a certain career. The perception of career success can be split into objective (extrinsic) career success, including observable, comparable and measurable criterion including income, status and prestige. As well as subjective (intrinsic) career success, which refer to a person’s individual appraisal of their career experience based on personal standards. In the context of Chinese society the authors found that entrepreneurs are mainly driven by objective motivations.

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ENT REPRENEURIAL DESIRE When the motivation of students was analyzed in the light of career success criterion two factors emerged: Among the primary motivational factors for Chinese undergraduate students to become entrepreneurs were foremost positive pull factors such as “to do what I want’, “self- fulfillment”, “realization of ideas/ vision”, “to seek a new challenge” and “to be independent”. Those factors are intrinsic motivations; implying that for this group of students it is not the objective success criterions as previously highlighted for Chinese entrepreneurs by Lau, Shaffer and Au (2007) that motives them to embark on an entrepreneurial career, but that they are driven by intrinsic career success criterions instead. Also compared to Henderson and Robertson’s (2000) study where “money” and “being one’s own boss” constituted the main motivation factors for students to become entrepreneurs, students in this study ranked objective career success criterion such as “money” but especially “fame” only at the lower end of rankings. (Table 2) Findings in this study are similar to Llisteri et al (2006) research results, which found that the main motivation to become an entrepreneur among their sample group were selfrealization (79 percent) to be independent (63 percent) and to contribute to society (55 percent).

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ENTREPRENEURIAL DESIRE

While female and male students top 4 choices to become an entrepreneur were the same, gender differences emerged for “self- fulfillment” which was named by 78 percent of female students but only by 66 percent of male students. “To be independent” was ranked 5th rank with 58 percent of female students choosing it, but only 8th with 43 percent by male students. And lastly, while females valued “flexibility” with 45 percent considerably higher than male students with 32 percent, male students valued “fame” with 36 percent substantially higher than females with 27 percent.

However both genders showed no difference in relation to negative push factors, which only played an insignificant role in motivating students to consider entrepreneurship as a career path. “No prospect to find employment” and “don't have enough qualification to find suitable job” were only chosen twice and once respectively, indicating that Chinese students embark on an entrepreneurial career out of opportunity with the intrinsic motivation to become entrepreneur, instead of embarking into entrepreneurship out of necessity because they don’t see any other employment opportunities. The findings support Llisterri et al (2006) findings that young entrepreneurs who established a business out of opportunity became entrepreneurs because of positive reasons.

The impact of Entrepreneurs and the Image of entrepreneurship on desire The intention to become an entrepreneur is influenced by the external environment.

Social learning theory assumes that in addition to parents the observation of entrepreneurs as significant occupational role models and the exposure to positive images related to an entrepreneurial career increases the perceived desirability for young people to embark on an entrepreneurial endeavor. (Kruger, Reilly & Carsrud 2000; Veciana, Aponte & Urbano 2005; Schoof 2006; Nabi et al 2006) 52 percent of students agreed and 36 percent of students disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement “The business atmosphere in China inspires to develop ideas for new business”. When explicitly asked about the perception of entrepreneurs in China the opinion across the group varied: 51 percent of students indicated that entrepreneurs have a positive image in China, while 30 percent disagreed. In focus groups students assessed Chinese entrepreneurs as risk takers, individual personalities and decision makers who Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

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ENTREPRENEURIAL DESIRE

are independent, smart, innovative, persistent, and brave individuals with the ability to adapt to a changing environment and with a dream to change their life and the actions to realize them. On the other hand, students mentioned ambiguous characteristics such as being seen as rich, shortsighted individuals, as people who retain a special relationship with governments, and individuals who must have good networks. This is similar to Henderson and Robertson (2000) findings, where students evaluated entrepreneurs as motivated, hard-working and innovative individuals.

The survey showed that the more positive the students in the sample evaluated entrepreneurs the more they desire to become entrepreneurs themselves. Students who disagreed that entrepreneurs have a positive image in China expressed an average desire of 3.44 to become entrepreneur, while students who strongly agreed that entrepreneurs have a positive image in China displayed an average desire of 4.67. (Table 3)

The impact of family on student’s entrepreneurial desire The second factor discussed in the literature relates to the impact of parental occupation towards the entrepreneurial intention of students either through the family role- model or the family support model. When asked “Have your parents started a business in the past?” only 26 percent of students replied in the affirmative, while the majority of respondents (74 percent) negated the question.

Analyzing the occupational situation of parents closer reveals 71 percent of fathers and 72 percent of mothers are in an employee position, while 25 percent of fathers are selfemployed, with self- employment among mothers much lower at 10.2 percent.

Social learning theory (Krumboltz, Mitchell and Jones’s 1976) argues that career choices Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards 22 Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

ENTREPRENEURIAL DESIRE

are made through the positive and consistent reinforcement from occupational role models and that an entrepreneurial family background leads to increased entrepreneurial desire among students. In this sample, students with an entrepreneurial family background show a slightly higher desire to become entrepreneur than students without entrepreneurial parents. 63 percent of students with entrepreneurial parents and 53 percent of students from non- entrepreneurial families desire or strongly desire to become entrepreneurs. Table 4 shows that students with entrepreneurial family background show a higher average desire of 3.79 than students from a non-entrepreneurial family background.

The impact of knowledge on desire Table 5 shows the results of the question “Do you know enough to start your own business?” Results indicate that while 54 percent of students perceive entrepreneurship as desirable, 58 percent of study participants indicate they have none or little business knowledge. This data is similar to Wang and Wong’s (2004) findings among Singaporean students, 50.7 percent of surveyed students were quit or very interested in starting their own business but 71.6 percent of students claimed to have only below average knowledge about the subject.

Female students rated their knowledge about how to set up a business significantly lower (median 2 points, know little) than male students (median 4 points, know something).

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ENTREPRENEURIAL DESIRE

Furthermore 60 percent of male but only 45 percent of females confirmed the statement “I've started to get further skills and knowledge to succeed in my entrepreneurial plans”.

Male students not only demonstrated a higher desire to become entrepreneurs, but they also seemed to be more proactive in acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed.

When analyzed whether students evaluate to know more about business when they replied in the affirmative to the questions “I've started to get further skills and knowledge to succeed in my entrepreneurial plans”, the data reveals that students who did not gain further skills evaluate their knowledge level at an average of 2.37 while students who did gain further skills have a increased perceived knowledge level of 2.96, therefore the perception of knowledge seems is strongly influenced by their drive to gain further skills and knowledge.

Three further cross tabulations were made to observe the correlation between family background and knowledge, the students’ desire to become an entrepreneur and their knowledge level and thirdly between participation in entrepreneurship courses and knowledge level.

For the first analysis the data between the correlation of the family background and the level of knowledge, the data reveals that an entrepreneurial family background positively influences the knowledge level of students. Students with an entrepreneurial family background rated their knowledge at an average of 2.88 (median 3) while students without entrepreneurial parents rate their knowledge at 2.59 (median 2).

Secondly, by cross tabulating desire and knowledge the data reveals that the trend in general implies that students accumulate a higher knowledge about how to start a business with an increasing entrepreneurial desire2. (Table 9) Further exploration into which factors contributed to this increase in knowledge reveals two main factors: Firstly, the more students desire to become entrepreneurs the more they accumulate knowledge to fulfill their desire successfully and therefore the knowledge level increases with increasing desire.

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However, further data analysis reveals that while participation in an entrepreneurship course increases the perceived knowledge level from an average of 2.53 to 2.84, an increasing desire does not lead to an increasing participation in entrepreneurship courses. Therefore it remains unknown how students gain the additional knowledge.

Secondly, an increasing desire might result in a more positive evaluation of their perceived knowledge level; therefore the more students desire to become entrepreneurs the more positive they might evaluate their own skills and knowledge.

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PART III: YES OR NO? FEASIBILITY

Feasibility De-motivational factors Perceived institutional support Exploring the Entrepreneurial intentions of Chinese students – Part II

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The desire to become an entrepreneur and the perceived feasibility to realize this desire in a given environment forms the entrepreneurial intention. As outlined 54 percent of Chinese students perceive a career as entrepreneur as either desirable or very desirable, it is now further analyze to see how students perceive the feasibility to turn this desire into action.

If the feasibility to become an entrepreneur is questioned 42 percent of students answered that embarking on an entrepreneurial career would be either difficult or very difficult and 31 percent perceived their experience as going to be either easy or very easy. (Table 6)

The correlation between increasing desire measured with the question “Do you desire to become an Entrepreneur?” and feasibility measured with the questions “For me being self- employed would be…” and “my chance of failure would be..” points to the conclusion that an increasing desire leads to a increased perceived feasibility among students3. (Tables 7 and 8)

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De-Motivational Factors The research established that students in the study were pulled towards a career as an entrepreneur by positive intrinsic factors including self-fulfillment and flexibility. When asked which considerations and challenges negatively impact their perceived feasibility of embarking on an entrepreneurial career, students most often cited the absence of a good business or project idea and the lack of seed funding to start.

Further considerations included: 1. Competition is too fierce 2. Risks are too high 3. Family responsibilities 4. Being to young 5. Lack of courage 6. No passion 7. Fear of loosing (“From Hero to Zero”) 8. Influence of others and the opinion of others on oneself 9. Lack of skills, knowledge and insights The most often declared de-motivational factors in the survey included the two dominant factors of knowledge and funding (1= strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree): 1. I am afraid of not having the right skills and experience (average of 3.74) 2. I am de-motivated from the level of corruption in business (or society in general) (average of 3.67) 3. I am worried by the possibility of loosing my (invested) money (average of 3.61)

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4. I am afraid of not being able to pay back my loan, credit or borrowed money (average of 3.59) 5. I am afraid of not being able to get enough money to start my own business (average 3.48) The answers indicate that the entrepreneurial knowledge and the financing and repayment of start-up capital seems to be one of the largest concerns for becoming an entrepreneur; on the other hand students seem to be less concerned with the opinion of their family in the case of failure (average of 2.79) or considerations regarding social protection (average of 2.46). This is similar to Wang and Wong’s (2004) findings in Singapore where the lack of entrepreneurial knowledge has been considered one of the major influences on students’ entrepreneurial desire.

Perceived institutional Support To increase the feasibility of entrepreneurship as career choice for students various universities in China have established support networks, incubators, training courses and seed funding for promising student entrepreneurs. If asked: “Qualified support (like financial support, incubators, and consultants) for new companies are available” 44 percent of students in the survey disagreed or strongly disagreed while 41 percent of students agreed or strongly agreed. This ambivalent results can result from three factors: Firstly, in China entrepreneurship initiatives have only been set up at a few universities as pilot projects, including projects at the China Youth University for Political Sciences (CYU), Xi’an International Studies University (XISU) and Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDFSU) (SIFT 2006); therefore not all students especially from second and third—tier universities benefit from such support service. Secondly, entrepreneurship courses are still often only included in business or technology studies, therefore again only benefiting a small number of students. Thirdly, many students might not be aware of support services offered at their university, either because of a communication gap between the university and intended recipients or because students themselves are not actively searching for support services.

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Providing financial support and training is one part of developing an entrepreneurial university environment, the other is the general perception of entrepreneurship at the university campus and the perceived support through teachers and career advisors. 64 percent of students imply that their university environment has strongly supported or influenced their entrepreneurial career choice, 10 percent indicated that the university environment has influenced them negatively, while 20 percent of students indicate that the university has not influenced their entrepreneurial career at all.

However,

it

remains unclear whether it is the formal

education

including

entrepreneurship courses in their degrees or the informal environment including entrepreneurship student clubs and voluntarily taken courses from career centers that influenced the perception of the university environment.

The findings regarding the influence of teachers and career counselors correlates with previous finding from Henderson and Robertson (2000) who found in their study that teachers and career guidance counselors were perceived to have little direct impact on students 58 percent of Chinese undergraduate students in this sample indicated that teachers have no influence on their career choice, while 33 percent indicated that teachers have a positive influence toward the choice of becoming an entrepreneur.

Career advisors had no influence for 63 percent of students and a mainly positively influence for 29 percent of students.

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PART IV: YES OR NO? INTENTIONS

Employment Choice Intentions to start a business Impact of Entrepreneurship courses

Exploring the Entrepreneurial intentions of Chinese students – Part III

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The

combination

of

the

perceived

desirability

and

feasibility

generates

the

entrepreneurial intention within students. It was earlier stated that 54 percent of students in this sample perceive entrepreneurship as either desirable or very desirable and but also that 42 percent of students believed being an entrepreneur as difficult or very difficult.

Hence, this combination of entrepreneurial desire and perceived feasibility shapes the intention within students to choose entrepreneurship as a career choice.

Employment choice One indicator whether students intend to embark on an entrepreneurial career is their choice between self- employment and employment. When asked, “If you were to choose between running a business and being employed by someone else what would you prefer?” 48 percent of students prefer or strongly prefer becoming self- employed and only 9 percent prefer or strongly prefer to take up an employee position. (Table 14)

More female than male students prefer employment (11 percent and 4 percent respectively), and female students demonstrate a more neutral view towards an career choice with 48 percent of females and only 34 percent of males not preferring either career. In agreement male students exhibit a stronger preference towards becoming an entrepreneur, as 63 percent of male students prefer or strongly prefer self- employment, compared to 41 percent of female students. Previous studies (De Wit and Van Winden 1989; Matthew and Moser 1996; Crant 1996; Kourislski and Walstad 1998) indication that males have a higher preference to start their own business than females are supported through this study’s results. When questioned, “If you were to choose between Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

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ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS

running your own business and being employed by someone else, what would you prefer?� 62 percent of male students but only 41 percent of females either prefer or strongly prefer self- employment. (Table 15 and 16)

These findings only partially mirror previous studies: The data shows a higher percentage of Chinese students (48 percent) than Russian students (Trachev and Kolvereid 1999: 37.3 percent) prefer self- employment, while the data regarding preference for organizational employment seem to be completely contradictory. Only 9 percent of Chinese students but 45.5percent of Russian students prefer organizational employment, which could result from different experiences in the economic transitions process and different cultural perceptions of entrepreneurship, whereby especially in Russia entrepreneurs are seen in an unfavorable light and therefore entrepreneurship is not a desired path for Russian students.

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If 63 percent of males and 41 percent of females prefer to choose self- employment over employment, it needs to be further uncovered how likely they will pursue a career as an entrepreneur. When asked “How likely is it that you will pursue a career as employee in an organization?” 57 percent of respondents replied that they likely or very likely will become employee in an organization and only 1 student indicated that she is unlikely to become an employee. (Table 17) Therefore despite that 63 percent of students have high preference for self-employment and only 9 percent prefer or strongly prefer to become employees, 57 percent of students will likely become employees and therefore a large percentage of students will not realize their entrepreneurial ambitions at least in the short term.

Intention to start business To the question “Do you plan to start your own business up to three (3) years after graduation?” 19 percent of students replied in the affirmative. If segregated by gender, 10 percent of female but 38 percent of male students plan to start a business within 3 years after graduation, which is also somewhat contradictory to the findings in Table 10 which shows that only one student perceived the likelihood of becoming entrepreneur. The possible reason is that students are torn apart between the expectations to gain a reasonable well job after graduation and their desire to start their own venture and therefore deliver contradictory replies towards the intention to start a business within 3 years after graduation and the likelihood to become an employee. Furthermore it could imply that students aim to get a job as employee first, but plan to set up their business after a short period of time as employee and within the three years timeframe.

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If asked to estimate the likelihood of starting their own business within three years after graduation, 54 percent of students estimate the likelihood as unlikely or very unlikely whilst 46 percent of students rated it as likely or very likely. The gender difference is minimal as 49 percent of males and 54 percent of females perceive it as very likely or likely to set up their own business within three years after graduation.

The increased likelihood to establish their business could be attributed to a previously established stronger entrepreneurial desire within male students and therefore a higher likelihood that they turn those intentions into actions. Additionally, of the students whom previously indicated they intend to set up a business within three years after graduation, 90 percent rated the likelihood of realizing this ambition as likely or very likely indicating their strong intention. This data is contradictory to findings by Kolvereid (1996) among Norwegian business students, whereby only 7 percent of them estimated the likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur to be 75 percent or higher. (Luethje and Franke 2003) However the majority of students of either gender either do not plan to start a business within three years after graduation or evaluated the likelihood of doing so as unlikely or very unlikely, confirming that at least for the majority of students their short-term prediction of becoming an employee in an organization is likely to be realized, instead of embarking on an entrepreneurial career.

On the other hand 81 percent of students intend to start a business at some time in their life after working for an organization as employee first. Combined with the previous findings that students evaluate the likelihood to pursue a career as an employee as very high and their current business knowledge as limited could imply that students first aim to gain business experience and accumulate wealth before establishing themselves as entrepreneur. However, as Luehtje and Franke (2003) pointed out, a time lag between the intention of becoming an entrepreneur and the actual action of setting up a venture has a negative impact on entrepreneurial intention. Vesper (1983), Learned (1992), Aldrich (1999) and Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud (2000) also suggest that there is no direct correlation between intentions of venture creation and actions and students in the long term might have the intention to become an entrepreneur but might not act on that intention. By researching the entrepreneurial intentions of students in an longitudinal Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

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ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS

study, Audet (2004) furthermore found that when students intend to set up a business within a long timeframe after first becoming an employee, than work satisfaction in the employee position becomes a better entrepreneurial predictor than desirability, therefore work satisfaction in their first job will influence the percentage of students turning this entrepreneurial desire into actions. Therefore the high percentage of 81 percent of students rating the likelihood of setting up a venture at some point in their life as likely or very likely will be affected by the time lag and therefore not all of them will become entrepreneurs in the long-term.

The impact of entrepreneurship courses Developmental theories aim to explain career choice as a developmental process in which an individual’s career choice is shaped through the interaction with its environment. (Ginzberg et al 1951; Super 1954) Intervening learning experiences occurring through an individual’s life shape one’s abilities and redefine an individual’s career choice. (Lent, Brown and Hackett 1987) Furthermore the intention to start business requires a propensity to act to turn the entrepreneurial intention into actual behavior.

Participation in entrepreneurship courses can be both: the learning experience which shapes an individuals desire to become an entrepreneur or a propensity to act which constitutes the turning point in an individual from desiring to become an entrepreneur to taking actions and becoming an entrepreneur.

If desire and participation in an entrepreneurship course are cross tabulated, it shows that students who participated in an entrepreneurship course show a higher desire (average 3.72) than students who have not participated in such course (average 3.56) However, it remains unclear if students with a higher desire to become entrepreneurs participate more in entrepreneurship courses of if the participation in such courses increases the entrepreneurial desire of participants.

The data reveals that participation in an entrepreneurship course does not impact the perceived feasibility. Students participating in such course rated “being self employed would be…” at an average of 2.91 while student who did not participate in such course rated it at 2.92. These is aligned to findings from Souitaris etc al (2007) which found that Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

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ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS

participation in an entrepreneurship course increase the desirability among participants to start their own business, however it does not affect their perception of the feasibility.

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CONCLUSION

Recommendations

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CONCLUSION

This paper set out to investigate 2 research questions: the perceptions of undergraduate Chinese students towards entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs in China and those students’ intentions including the perceived barriers towards entrepreneurship as a career choice. This research focus has been set in the context of the emerging youth employment crisis in contemporary China, which results in an annual employment gap in the range of 14 to 15 million jobs, (Zhang 2004) leaving millions of educated and ambitious young people unable to find suitable employment. Among global policy makers youth entrepreneurship, especially from educated university graduates has emerged as new avenue to address youth unemployment, to integrate youth into society, to tackle poverty and to spur economic growth.

Youth entrepreneurship in China is an under-researched field; with little data available how many young entrepreneurs are currently operating in China or how students perceive entrepreneurship as a career choice. This paper aimed to shed a light on the current perception of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs among undergraduate students as well as their entrepreneurial intention. The generated results are promising to develop a generation of entrepreneurial graduates in China: On one hand the data revealed that the majority of students perceive that Chinese entrepreneurs have a positive image in China, associating positive attributes with entrepreneurs independent, smart, innovative, persistent and brave decision makers, with the ability to adapt to a changing environment and with a dream to change their life and the actions to realize them. Only very few negative attributes were named, such as being seen as rich, short-sighted individuals and as people who retain a special relationship with governments.

And while the majority if students cannot draw from an entrepreneurial family background, the data finds that despite the lack of family role model Chinese students show a high entrepreneurial desire comparative to students in Western Europe and America. In China 54 percent of study participants perceive a career as an entrepreneur as either desirable or very desirable, compared 61.8 percent 50 percent of students in the United Kingdom. (Price and Wilkinson 2004) Furthermore the findings are in agreement with other studies in regards to gender differences, with male students showing a higher entrepreneurial desire than female students.

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CONCLUSION

The findings indicate that students differ in their motivation from previously researched mature Chinese entrepreneurs for whom Lau, Shaffer and Au (2007) established that they are mainly driven by objective motivations including income, status and prestige.

Chinese students on the other hand are pulled towards an entrepreneurial career out of subjective (intrinsic) career success factors including the desire for self- fulfillment, to do what they want to do, to be independent and to turn their ideas and visions into reality.

This motivation further indicates that university students disembark from the traditional influence of Confucianism which influences employees to be passive at work and be unwilling to take responsibility, (Lee & Peterson 2000) and instead shows that they desire to take the responsibility and challenge that comes with an entrepreneurial career.

While a majority of students desire to become entrepreneurs only a smaller fraction has the intention to turn this desire into reality. 81 percent of students aim to set up a business at one point in life but only 19 percent intend to do so within three years after graduation. The reasons are various. Firstly students perceive the feasibility to become an entrepreneur as low and particularly view access to financial support and a perceived low level of knowledge as crucial barriers towards an entrepreneurial career. With entrepreneurship trainings, incubation centers and support service for emerging student entrepreneurs not yet widely available not well enough know by students, students have little chance to gain the necessary skills or access to crucial seed funding to address those barriers and to increase the feasibility to become entrepreneurs.

Krumboltz, Mitchell and Jones’s (1976) social learning theory, which emphasizes that career choices are made through the positive and consistent reinforcement from occupational role models, especially through the parental role model seem to be partially confirmed, as students with entrepreneurial parents show a higher desire than students from non- entrepreneurial families. However a crucial point is that students regardless of their family background desire to become entrepreneurs, therefore constituting a large base of students with the potential desire to embark on an entrepreneurial career.

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CONCLUSION

To evaluate the university environment a distinction needs to be made between the general campus environment and the influence of key role models including teachers and career guidance counselors. While 64 percent of students imply that their university environment has strongly supported or influenced their entrepreneurial career choice, it remains unclear whether it is the formal education including entrepreneurship courses in their degrees or the informal environment including entrepreneurship student clubs and voluntarily taken courses from career centers that influenced the perception of the university environment. The findings regarding the influence of teachers and career counselors correlates with previous finding from Henderson and Robertson (2000) who found in their study that teachers and career guidance counselors were perceived to have little direct impact on students. This indicates that while students perceive a lack of entrepreneurship knowledge or access to finance as barriers, key staff at universities whom are able to exercise a positive influence over students entrepreneurial career by providing them with the necessary information, access to training programs or contacts for financial support are currently not exercising this influence.

As the perception of entrepreneurship is mostly positive among students and the option of entrepreneurship as a career choice is highly desired among students entrepreneurship education and incubation services emerged as most crucial factors to turn this entrepreneurial intentions into actions. Entrepreneurship education is mainstreamed at universities in Western Europe and America, with entrepreneurship courses, degrees and incubation centers being set up in most universities during the past decade. Universities became actively engaged in promoting an entrepreneurial spirit amongst students and additionally an such as increasing number of universities, governments and private organizations Youth Venture International are enabling students to start their own ventures through the provision of seed funding, venture capital and mentorship programs, therefore increasing the feasibility of an entrepreneurial career. These measures are either still in their infancy in China (SIFE 2006) or students are not aware of those support services. The data has show that often it is only the perception of entry barriers such a finance and knowledge that prevents students from choosing an entrepreneurial career.

As the data while a large number of students has indicated their desire to become an entrepreneur, only 19 percent of students have the intention to set up their business Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards 41 Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

RECOMMENDATIONS

within three years after graduation. However, if this number is generalized it implies that from 5.59 million Chinese graduates in 2008 1,06 million students might have the intention to become an entrepreneur. If this number is put into relations to Luethje and Franke’s (2003) findings that entrepreneurial minded students employ in their sample intended to employ on average 96.6 people three years after founding their companies, it provides not only a massive opportunity to provide employment to those 1.06 million graduate entrepreneurs but to spur economic growth and generate employment for a large numbe of other people. Therefore universities and other actors need to further facilitate an entrepreneurial environment by providing promising student entrepreneurs with the necessary support to turn their entrepreneurial intentions into actions by setting up their own business

Recommendations The findings provide several implications for universities and agencies concerned with encouraging graduate entrepreneurship: While 54 percent of university students desire to become entrepreneurs the mounting employment challenge for graduates implies that further measures need to be applied to increase this rate. From the findings three measures can be suggested: Firstly, female students have shown a lower entrepreneurial desire than male students. Therefore one measure can be to increase the entrepreneurial desire among female students by showcasing more successful female entrepreneurs as role models for those students. If more female entrepreneurs are portrayed through the media or as case studies or speakers in entrepreneurship courses, female will be more able to identify themselves with those role models increasing their perceived desire to become a successful entrepreneur themselves.

Secondly, entrepreneurship courses have been proven to increase entrepreneurial desire among participants. It would be therefore crucial to not only increase the number of entrepreneurship courses at universities, but also to improve the marketing of existing programs in order to make more students aware of their existence and benefits. Therefore through building on a development career choice approach more students should be exposed to entrepreneurship and those programs should draw from existing good case Foundation for Youth Social Entrepreneurship – The Intentions Of Undergraduate Chinese Students Towards Entrepreneurship As A Career Choice

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RECOMMENDATIONS

practices and incorporate the crucial components of a) taught courses, b) business planning, c) interaction with established entrepreneurs and d) supporting services for the start up period. (Souitaris et al 2007) Thirdly, successful entrepreneurs in China should not only be further promoted as role models through the media but also be actively engaged as facilitators in entrepreneurship seminars and courses. This participation in courses would not only increase the knowledge of participants but also increase the desirability as students can directly interact with those entrepreneurs and gain inspiration and motivation from their role models.

The data has revealed the especially access to financial support and the perceived low level of knowledge are crucial barriers towards entrepreneurship. Therefore two recommendations can be made: Firstly, more incubators providing entrepreneurship and business training, networking and seed funding need to be established in Chinese universities and existing support services need to be further promoted to raise the awareness of such service among students. The service should not be limited to training and networking, but include seed funding in order to overcome the perceived financial barrier.

Indeed in recent years the central government has taken initial steps by introducing preferential taxation treatment for graduate start-ups, micro financing and access to business startup training, counseling, and policy consultation. (Zhang 2004) In order for those measures to increase the perceived feasibility of starting a business and to support the ultimate goal of encouraging more graduates to become entrepreneurs these measures should be further increased and better promoted through central government campaigns as well as through specific campaigns at universities.

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PART VI: BIBLIOGRAPHY

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