INTENTION TO BECOME AN ENTREPRENEUR OF A/L STUDENTS STUDYING COMMERCE STREAM IN PUTTALAM DISTRICT, SRI LANKA

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is the backbone of the economy. Entrepreneurial Intention is the intent of an individual to engage in entrepreneurial activity as a future career or to start an entrepreneurial venture. The objective of this study is to identify the factors affecting the Entrepreneurial Intention of A/L students in the commerce stream in Puttalam district and to investigate the effect of these factors on Entrepreneurial Intention. Entrepreneurship Education, Self Efficacy, Family Background, and Opportunity Recognition were considered as independent variables. The dependent variable in this research was Entrepreneurial Intention. This research is quantitative, explanatory, deductive, and tests four hypotheses. Both primary and secondary data were used in this study. Primary data were collected from 225 A/L students in the commerce stream in the Puttalam district through a structured questionnaire. Secondary data were collected from research papers and articles on Entrepreneurial Intention. The study population was 541, and the sample size according to the Morgan table was 225. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. According to the results, there was a moderate, significant, and positive impact of Entrepreneurship Education, Family Background, and Opportunity Recognition on the Entrepreneurial Intention of A/L students, while there was a moderate and positive but not significant impact of Self-Efficacy on Entrepreneurial Intention among A/L students in the Puttalam district. This study recommends that more attention be paid to entrepreneurship education, self-efficacy, family background, and recognizing opportunities to improve the entrepreneurial intention of A/L students.