The structural equation model of nascent entrepreneurial behavior among undergraduate students in thailand

Abstract

Previous studies have investigated entrepreneurial behavior but failed to pinpoint nascent entrepreneurial behavior (NEB) and its underlying causal factors. Potential universities are required to cooperate with government agencies to promote and support students, researchers, and entrepreneurs access the resources necessary for innovation-driven enterprises. As entrepreneurial universities, Thai universities will act as the new engine for national growth. This research aimed to develop, validate, and evaluate the invariance of the structural equation model (SEM) of NEB among Thai undergraduate students. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey with a Cronbach’s alpha between 0.723 and 0.903, which was applied to a sample of 1,272 students. Later, data were analyzed using LISREL software. The results showed that the constructed SEM was congruent with the empirical data at a very high level. Fifty-three percent of the variance of NEB was explained by causal factors. Attitude (ATT) was shown to have a direct effect on NEB at the highest level, followed by social norm (SN), and entrepreneurial intention (EI), respectively. This result suggested that actual EI depends not only on the policies launched by government sectors and universities, but also the awareness level of students towards such policies. Therefore, entrepreneurship behavior should be promoted continually for emphasis on NEB.