Exploring the Interest and Intention of Entrepreneurship in Engineering Alumni

America’s economic growth and international competitiveness significantly depend on its ability to innovate. Entrepreneurship is an important pathway to innovation and leadership—however, until recently there has been little research exploring what factors influence whether or not engineering graduates will engage in entrepreneurial activities. This study explored how engineering alumni who are interested in starting a business or an organization may be similar to or different from their peers based on a number of measures. We also explored why some engineering alumni who co-founded or started a company in the past may no longer have an entrepreneurial interest. A logistic regression was conducted to explore what variables were the most important in predicting a student’s intention and interest in pursuing entrepreneurial activities. Three research questions guided this study: 1. How do engineering alumni with high intentions and high interest in pursuing entrepreneurial activities compare with peers with low entrepreneurial intention and interest in terms of demographics, career-related characteristics, self-confidence and interest in technical concepts and problems? 2. What factors influence alumni’s interest in and intention to pursue entrepreneurial activities? 3. For engineering alumni who have been entrepreneurs in the past, what activities led them to either become more entrepreneurially-minded or divert to a nonentrepreneurial career path? The participants in this study were 484 alumni who received their undergraduate engineering degrees in 2007 from four different universities in the United States. Our research aims to help engineering educators understand the factors that promote and contribute to entrepreneurial pursuits among engineering alumni. In addition, by identifying what factors or circumstances influence entrepreneurial activities, engineering schools may design programs and identify potential opportunities for intervention. 1. Background In an environment of growing market competiveness and business pressures, there is a critical need for engineers with entrepreneurial knowledge and skills. However, the traditional engineering curriculum often does not expose students to entrepreneurial education. Students with entrepreneurial training can contribute valuable skills to the workplace; for example, managing interdisciplinary teams, communicating effectively, thinking critically, understanding business basics, and solving open-ended problems. Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking where individuals identify opportunities to innovate. Following through on those opportunities is an intentional act. Thus, strong intentions to start a business are likely to result in efforts toward acting upon those intentions. In this study we