The Influence of Entrepreneurial Career Self-Efficacy on the Entrepreneurial Career Choice of Final-Year Engineering and Technology Students in Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/jepm.3770Keywords:
Career, Entrepreneurial Career Choice, Entrepreneurial Career Self-Efficacy, Entrepreneurial Career InterestAbstract
Purpose: This study examined the influence of entrepreneurial career self-efficacy on the entrepreneurial career choice of final-year engineering and technology students across three public universities in Kenya.
Methodology: Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the research sampled 206 students through stratified simple random sampling from a target population of 1,620 final-year students enrolled during the 2020/21 academic year at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenyatta University, and Moi University. Together, these institutions account for over half of public university enrolments in engineering and technology disciplines.
Findings: The findings revealed that entrepreneurial career self-efficacy significantly affects entrepreneurial career choice, while the moderating effect of entrepreneurial career interest was not statistically significant. Follow-up qualitative analysis indicated that heightened entrepreneurial self-efficacy is more often rooted in experience in the informal economy than in actual capabilities to establish Engineering and Technology Based New Firms (ETNFs). While initial employment aligned with students’ fields of study remained a preferred path, participants acknowledged existing challenges related to employers’ requirements and the job market.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The research contributes to the literature by adopting a career approach to entrepreneurship using a mixed-methods design focused on undergraduate engineering and technology students. It also underscores the importance of designing and implementing University Student Entrepreneurship Promotion (USEP) services that intentionally foster students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy for both entrepreneurship and employment paths. Future research should further explore the effects of USEP services on entrepreneurial career choice.
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