Entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours of South African University Students

Abstract

The entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours of South African university students are important factors to consider when developing entrepreneurship offerings at local universities. This article reports on pertinent findings from a study which set out to determine South African students’ career choice intentions and entrepreneurship behaviours as well as their knowledge and utilisation of, demand for and satisfaction with entrepreneurship offerings of local universities relative to international universities. A survey, using a 15-question structured web-based instrument was used to capture the responses from university students across 26 nations in the Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey (GUESSS) conducted in 2011. Key findings are that few South Africa university students intend to enter into an entrepreneurship career immediately after completion of their studies, whereas close to a third of respondents were interested in doing so five years after graduation. The vast majority of students were satisfied with entrepreneurship offerings at South African universities. More physical support such as network access platforms are however needed as well as awareness of and access to small business funding mechanisms. Better marketed and focussed entrepreneurship offerings are essential to foster an environment at South African universities to promote entrepreneurship as career choice.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial intentions, Entrepreneurial behaviours, Global financial crisis, South African university students