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What Drives Engineering Students To Be Entrepreneurs? Evidence of Validity for an Entrepreneurial Motivation Scale
Author(s) -
Yi Soohyun,
DuvalCouetil Nathalie
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of engineering education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.896
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 2168-9830
pISSN - 1069-4730
DOI - 10.1002/jee.20199
Subject(s) - scale (ratio) , construct (python library) , mediation , entrepreneurship , psychology , categorization , construct validity , engineering education , knowledge management , mathematics education , psychometrics , engineering , computer science , sociology , political science , mechanical engineering , social science , clinical psychology , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , programming language , law
Background Educators and policymakers are increasingly interested in making entrepreneurship education accessible to engineering students given engineers' potential contributions to innovation and the economy. However, what motivates engineering students to choose entrepreneurial careers and how this could be influenced through education have not been fully explored in the literature. Purpose The study develops and tests an entrepreneurial motivation scale for engineering students. It required providing initial evidence of validity for the scale based on guidelines for developing educational and psychological tests. Design/Method Following a comprehensive literature review, we chose to modify an existing scale and administer it to engineering students. Here we present two sources of evidence of validity for examining how entrepreneurial motivation relates to variables commonly used to measure the impact of entrepreneurship education. They were developed by examining factor structure and psychometric properties as well as conducting mediation analysis. Results Data obtained from 460 engineering students supported three factors underlying the construct of entrepreneurial motivation: Motivation for Creation and Solution (MCS), Motivation for Personal Interests (MPS), and Managerial Motivation (MM). MCS and MM effectively explained intention to become an entrepreneur with mediation effects of venturing and technology self‐efficacy. Conclusion These findings resulted in a more parsimonious categorization of factors underlying the construct of entrepreneurial motivation than identified in prior studies, providing a foundational understanding of entrepreneurial motivation among engineering students. The results can be useful in assessment, research, and/or policy decisions related to delivering entrepreneurship education to engineering students.