Study on the Motivationfor Undergraduates to Become Entrepreneur Empirical Evidence from Eastern University, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Given the fact that the entrepreneurships are the back bone of an economy; as Sri Lanka is a developing country, the government has been suffering to generate sufficient job opportunity. This paper investigates empirically the main self and external factors that motivate the undergraduates to become entrepreneur, using data collected through questionnaires from 62 respondents who are undergraduates of Eastern University, Sri Lanka. The study mainly considers the factors Self efficacy, and perceived desirability of self-employment. It revealed that there was strong positive relationship between perceived desirability of self-employment,entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial motivators. These findings have to be considered when creating an atmosphere for motivating the undergraduate’s self-employment intention. The government spend huge amount of money for free education; this should have value. The value of the spending is subjected to its functionality. The graduates from national universities in Sri Lanka are reluctant to start their own business as the entrepreneurial based training given during the course was not sufficient and lack of awareness for financial support to start a business. If the authorities relevant to entrepreneurship explore the possibilities and highlight the advantage of self-employment and change their attitude by means of giving more emphasis in their curriculum, it would also be beneficial to them and the country as well.