Development of a Scale for Measuring University Students' Attitudes toward Entrepreneurship in Oman

International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
© 2020 by SSRG - IJHSS Journal
Volume 7 Issue 1
Year of Publication : 2020
Authors : Wajeha Thabit Al-Ani, Ali Sharaf Al Musawi, Mohamed El Tahir Osman
pdf
How to Cite?

Wajeha Thabit Al-Ani, Ali Sharaf Al Musawi, Mohamed El Tahir Osman, "Development of a Scale for Measuring University Students' Attitudes toward Entrepreneurship in Oman," SSRG International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 7,  no. 1, pp. 1-11, 2020. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V7I1P101

Abstract:

This study aimed to developa scale to measure university students' attitudes towards entrepreneurship in Oman. This questionnaire was developed based on the number ofliterature, which presented scales and models to measure people’s attitudes towards entrepreneurship. The student attitudes were measured by their tendency toward entrepreneurship which was based on four domains: personal skills, technical skills, managerial skills, and leadership skills. Data was collected from 592 students. The instrument underwent a psychometrics process to obtain reliability and validity. PLS-SEM
was used, the Assessment of a Measurement Model (AMM), rho_A, Composite Reliability, and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) were checked for the item and construct reliability with Discriminant validity for construct validity.Findings of the entrepreneurial skills among university students showed thatall standardized factor loadings of the skills on the latent entrepreneurship factor were relatively higher than 0.70. The study concluded that the items were reliable and constructs were valid enough to use to measure student attitudes toward entrepreneurship in Oman.

Keywords:

Entrepreneurship, Scale, Students' Attitudes, PLS-SEM, Item reliability, Construct Validity, Oman

References:

[1] Awe, S. C. (2012). The entrepreneur‟s information sources book: Charting the path to small business success. 2nd edition, an Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, U.S.A.
[2] Gartner, W. (1988). "Who is an Entrepreneur" is the wrongquestion. American Small Business Journal, 11-31.
[3] Kayed, R. N., & Hassan, K. M. (2011). Islamic entrepreneurship. Routledge Publisher, London and New York.
[4] Greene, C. L. (2011). Entrepreneurship 21st Century business. 2nd Edition, SOUTH-WESTERN CENGAGE Learning Publisher, U.S.A.
[5] Scarborough, N. M. (2011). Essetials of entreperneurship and small business management. Person Buplishers New York.
[6] Al-Ani, Wajeha (2017). Methodological analyses and applications to determine and maximize the added value of volunteer work in Oman. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (IJHSS), 6(2), 53-64.
[7] Al-Shanfari, D. (2012). Entrepreneurship in Oman: A Snapshot of the Main Challenges, Multi-Year Expert Meeting on Enterprise Development Policies and Capacitybuilding in Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI)- (Fourth session), UNCTAD,Geneva, 16-18 January 2012,
[8] Porter, M. (2004). Competitiveness and Economic Development: Implications for Oman. Lecture presented at Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman on 1 December 2004.
[9] Magd, H. & McCoy, M. (2014). Entrepreneurship in Oman: Paving the Way for a Sustainable Future, Procedia Economics and Finance, 15, 1632–1640
[10] Korunka, C., Frank, H., Lueger, M., & Mugler, J. (2003). The intrepreneurial personality in the context of resources, environment and the start up process- A configurational approach, Entrepereneuralship Theory and Practice, 28, 23-42.
[11] Licht, A. N. (2010). Entrepreneural Motiviations Culture and Law, entrepreneurship an Culture, editor by: Andreas Freytag and Roy Thurik, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg Publisher.
[12] Zhao, H., & Seibert, S. E. (2006). The Big Five personality dimensions and entrepreneurial status: A meta-analytical review. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 259–271.
[13] Stevenson, H. H.; & Jaeillo, J. (1990). A paradigm of entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial management, Strategic Management Journal, 11, 17-27
[14] De Jorge-Moreno, J., Castillo, L. L., & Triguero, M. S. (2012). The Effect of Business and Economics Education Programs on Students' Entrepreneurial Intention. European Journal of Training and Development, 36(4), 409-425.
[15] Fayolle, A. & Toutain, O. (2013). Four educational principles to rethink ethically entrepreneurship education. Revista de economía mundial, 35, 165-176.
[16] Watts, K. S. (2002). Promoting Entrepreneurship Studies in the Community College Setting. Eric, 12-12. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED469514
[17] Maritz, A., Waal, A., Jones, C. & Shwetzer, C. (2015) The status of entrepreneurship education in Australian universities, Education+Training, 57(8/9), 1020–1035.
[18] Nishimura, J. & Tristán, M. (2011). Using the theory of planned behavior to predict nascent entrepreneurship. Academia. Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, 46, pp. 55-71.
[19] Jakopec, A., Krečar, I. M., K., & Sušanj, Z. (2013). Predictors of entrepreneurial intentions of students of economics. Studia psychologica, 55(4), 289-297
[20] Schwarz, E. J., Wdowiak, M. A., Almer-Jarz, D. A., & Breitenecker, R. J. (2009). The Effects of Attitudes and Perceived Environment Conditions on Students Entrepreneurial Intent: An Austrian Perspective. Education & Training, 51(4), 272-291.
[21] Rauch, A. & Hulsink, W. (2015). Putting Entrepreneurship Education Where the Intention to Act Lies: An Investigation Into the Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Behavior, Academy of Management Learning and Education, 14(2),187-204
[22] Samuel, Y. A., Ernest, K. & Awuah, Jacob Baffour (2013). An Assessment of Entrepreneurship Intention Among Sunyani Polytechnic Marketing Students. International Review of Management and Marketing, 3(1), 37-49.
[23] Tegtmeier, S & Mitra, J. (2015), Gender perspectives on university education and entrepreneurship, International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 7 (3) 254 – 271.
[24] Sánchez-Escobedo, M. C., Díaz-Casero, J. C., Hernández-Mogollón, R., & Postigo-Jiménez, M. V. (2011). Perceptions and attitudes towards entrepreneurship. An analysis of gender among university students. International Entrepreneurship Management Journal, 7, 443–463.
[25] Shinnar, R., Pruett, M., & Toney, B. (2009). Entrepreneurship Education: Attitudes across Campus. Journal of Education for Business, 84(3), 151-159.
[26] De Pillis, E., & Reardon, K. K. (2007). The Influence of Personality Traits and Persuasive Messages on Entrepreneurial Intention: A Cross-Cultural Comparison. Career Development International, 12(4), 382-396.
[27] Varblane, U. & Mets, T. (2010). Entrepreneurship education in the higher education institutions (HEIs) of post-communist European countries, Journal of Enterprising Communities People and Places in the Global Economy, 4, 204-219
[28] Rantanen, T. & Toikko, T. (2013). Social values, societal entrepreneurship attitudes and entrepreneurial intention of young people in the Finnish welfare state. Poznań University of Economics Review, 13(1), 26-47.
[29] Sánchez, J. (2011). University training for entrepreneurial competencies: Its impact on intention of venture creation, Int Entrep Manag Journal, 7, 239–254
[30] Ekore, J. and Okekeocha, O. (2012). Fear of entrepreneurship among university graduates: a psychological analysis. International Journal of
Management, 29, 515-524.
[31] Nabi, G., Davey, T., Plewa, C. and Struwig, M. (2011) Entrepreneurship perceptions and career intentions of international students. Education+Training, 53(5), 335-352.
[32] Jafari-Moghadam, S., & Fakharzadeh, A. (2012). Development of Entrepreneurial Attitude in School Textbooks (Case Study: Farsi Textbooks of Primary Level), Journal of Entrepreneurial Development. 3(11):47-66.
[33] Gelardin, S. D., Muscat, E. J., &Whitty, M. D. (2010). Slow career: Mapping out a slow & sustainable lifework process. Business Renaissance Quarterly, 5(1), 31-54. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/212539650? accountid=27575
[34] Chang, J., &Rieple, A. (2013). Assessing students' entrepreneurial skills development in live projects. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 20(1), 225-241. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14626001311298501
[35] Smith, W.L., Schallenkamp, K., Eichholz, D. E. (2007). Entrepreneurial skills assessment: an exploratory study, Int. J. of Management and Enterprise Development, 4(2), 179 –201 Retrieved from http://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=1179 1, DOI: 10.1504/IJMED.2007.011791
[36] Pihie, Z. A. L., Bagheri, A., &Sani, Z. H. A. (2012). Exploring regulatory focus, entrepreneurial intention, selfefficacy and entrepreneurial skills among Malaysian higher learning institution students. Paper presented at the 430- XVI. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1325747229?accountid=27575
[37] The Mayers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (retrieved 5/6/2011). MBTI Basics http://www.myersbriggs.org/mymbti- personality-type/mbti-basics
[38] Henseler, J., Ringle, C.M. and Sinkovics, R.R. (2009). The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing. Advances in International Marketing, 20, 277-320.
[39] Hair, J.F., Ringle, C.M. and Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLSSEM: indeed a silver bullet. The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19 (2), 139-152.
[40] Wold, H. (1982). Soft modeling: the basic design and some extensions in Jöreskog, K.G.and Wold, H. (Eds), Systems under Indirect Observations: Part II, North-Holland, Amsterdam.
[41] Hashim, K.F. (2012). Understanding the determinants of continuous knowledge sharing intention within business online communities. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Auckland University of Technology.
[42] Dos Santos, J., Alberto, I. M. M., & Marques, C. M. V. A. (2016). The structured interview of family assessment risk: Convergent validity, inter-rater reliability, and structural relations. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. doi: 10.1007/s10560-016-0444-6.
[43] Hair, J.F., Hult, G.T.M., Ringle, C.M., Sarstedt, M., (2013). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage, Thousand Oaks.
[44] Hair, F.J. Jr, Sarstedt, M., Hopkins, L. and Kuppelwieser, V. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) an emerging
tool in business research”, European Business Review, 26 (2), 106-121.
[45] Ilyas, Mohammed Hin, Cheng Wei & Adnan, Zurine, (2016). Training Aligned With Business Strategies: Aiming At The „Strategic Fit‟. Journal of Scientific Research and Development, 3 (4), 150-156.
[46] Karuri, J., Waiganjo, P.W., &Orwa, D. (2014). Determinants of Acceptance and Use of DHIS 2 : Survey Instrument Validation and Preliminary Findings using PLSSEM. Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences, 5(8), 647-660.
[47] Fornell, C., and Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error. Journal of Marketing Research 18:39–50.
[48] Tharim, A. H. A., Samad, M. H. A. &Ismaoil, M. (2017). Relationship between Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), Occupant‟s Satisfaction and Productivity in GBI Rated Office Building using SEM-PLS. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 25 (S): 319 - 330.
[49] Frank, A. I. (2007). Entrepreneurship and enterprise skills: A missing element of planning education? Planning Practice & Research, 22(4), 635-648. doi: 10.1080/02697450701770142