Student intentions to become self-employed: the Ukrainian context

Purpose - This paper aims to explore whether an integrated conceptual model (ICM) relating to factors drawn from entrepreneurial event theory (EET) (i.e. perceived desirability and perceived feasibility) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) (i.e. attitudes toward the behaviour, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control) explains more of the variance relating to the intention to become an entrepreneur than individual EET or TPB models. Design/methodology/approach - Survey information from 192 students from three universities in the Ukraine was hand collected. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses presented. Findings - Models relating to EET, the TPB and the ICM explained 40 per cent, 55 per cent and 60 per cent of the variance in the entrepreneurial intention dependent variable, respectively. Students reporting higher levels of perceived desirability, perceived feasibility, attitude toward the behaviour (i.e. enterprise) and perceived behavioural control were more likely to report the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. No significant negative interaction effect between perceived desirability and perceived feasibility was detected. Research limitations/implications - The study does not evaluate the benefits of enterprise modules. The results can be generalised to the Ukraine and comparable transition economy contexts. Practical implications - The formation of entrepreneurial intentions in more students could be increased if enterprise teaching seeks to nurture higher levels of attitude toward the behaviour (i.e. enterprise), and higher levels of perceived behavioural control. Originality/value - Structural equation modelling was used to test the predictive accuracy of EET, TPB and ICM perspectives. Direct and indirect effects between factors and the intention to become an entrepreneur were considered.