A Non-Parametric Analysis of the Relationship between Business Experience and Entrepreneurial Intention of Final-Year University Students

Abstract

Last decades have witnessed that exposure to business activities, through family and direct experience, positively influences students’ entrepreneurial intention (EI). The paper aims to present and analyze the relationship between business experience (BE) and EI in the case of final-year university students, specialized in business administration and marketing, resorting to this end to a standardized questionnaire, developed by the authors and finalized following a pilot survey. The hypotheses considered, centered on the study of the existence of any contingency or correlational relationship between the BE of students, and their EI, based on related coefficients applicable in such case, have been confirmed, in line with similar studies. Theoretically, this paper contributes to the enrichment of the literature on students’ EI in higher education institutions (HEIs). Practically, students’ EI can be stimulated and encouraged by a deeper involvement of HEIs in entrepreneurship education, thereby creating a challenging entrepreneurial academic environment through a plethora of measures, such as establishing university spin-offs and closer relationships with their specific external stakeholders (e.g., entrepreneurs, businessmen).