DETERMINANTS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTENTION: THE MODERATING ROLE OF SELF-EFFICACY

This study examines the determinants of entrepreneurial intention among the final year science students of Nigerian universities. Primarily the study explored the direct effects of entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship orientation and the role of self-efficacy as a potential moderator on the relationship between these determinants and entrepreneurship intention. Partial Least Squares (PLS) path modeling was employed to test the study hypotheses. Based on a sample of 350 final year science students of the faculty of science Kaduna State University, the results provided support for most of the hypothesized relationships of the study. In particular, the study found that there is a significant negative relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship intention, there is also a significant negative relationship between entrepreneurship orientation and entrepreneurship intention. Furthermore, the study also established the moderating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship intention as well as the relationship between entrepreneurship orientation and entrepreneurship intention. The study recommends that, university regulatory policy makers, are to design a curriculum for entrepreneurship education to suit the interest of science students so as to become more innovative, creative and productive elements for entrepreneurship development. There is also the need for National University Commission to extend the period of Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) to all science students in order to inculcate the spirit of entrepreneurship education during SIWES.