Psychosocial Predictors of Entrepreneurial Behaviours Among Final Year Undergraduate Students in Ghana

Abstract

High levels of unemployment among university graduates in Ghana has course for concern, leading different stakeholders to promote the idea of self-employment among university students. Entre preneurship research in Ghana, especially among university students has therefore increased. However, for most part of entrepreneurship research among university students, entrepreneurship has been detached from the context of career planning in general. Entrepreneurship research in Ghana has mainly been underpinned by the narrative of being a means of escaping unemployment . Using the occupational choice model and entrepreneurial motivation theory as framework, the present study sought to integrate entrepreneurial behaviours into the context of career planning by examining the factors that influence self-employment as a career path. The study was conducted among a sample of 344 final year students from 4 universities in Ghana. Findings show that career anchor and self-evaluations are critical when understanding entrepreneurial behaviour among undergraduate students. Entrepreneurial climate in universities was also found to affect entrepreneurial behaviours among the students.These findings are discussed and ‘multi -level model of student entrepreneurship’ proposed within the context of researching and promoting student entrepreneurship