An Assessment of the Level of Agricultural Extension Entrepreneurship in the Process of Sustainable Agricultural Development. Dimensions and Validation On the Basis of structural Equation Model

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the level of agricultural extension entrepreneurship in the process of sustainable agricultural development. The statistical population of the study was composed of agricultural extension experts (N=2882). The method of sampling was a systematic random sampling one. Questionnaire was the means employed for data collection. Questionnaire validation was verified by a group of experts and as well by professors of the Department of Agricultural Education and Extension, Tehran University. A pilot study involving 30 questionnaires was conducted to determine the reliability of the research tool. Cronbach's alpha was estimated for different parts of the questionnaire as suitable for the study. The collected data were analyzed through an application of SPSS and LISREL softwares. A structural equation model for measurement of entrepreneurship of agricultural extension in the process of sustainable agricultural development. Within the model, there exist three dimensions for agricultural extension entrepreneurship assessment, namely: innovation, proactiveness as well as risk taking. The assessment components of the agricultural extension entrepreneurship, including a factor analysis as well as reliability factor, were determined. Results confirmed that three distinct dimensions of entrepreneurship, similar to those suggested in the literature, do exist. Based on how the items were related to each factor, the factors were entitled as: innovation, proactiveness and risk taking.The results imply that agricultural extension entrepreneurship is assessable through these three dimensions. The model could be used to improve entrepreneurship potential by managers in agricultural extension organizations.