Identifying entrepreneurial motivations of agricultural students: application of multidimensional scaling (Case study: Campus of agriculture and natural resources, Razi University)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Candidate , Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Agriculture, Razi University, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Agriculture, Razi University, Iran

Abstract

The main purpose of this mixed method research was to identify and prioritize the entrepreneurial motivations of agricultural students in Razi University. This research was carried out in tow phase. In qualitative phase the research population consisted of agricultural students experienced in startup an entrepreneurial business.Statistical population for second phase consisted of all agricultural fourth-year undergraduate students (N=186), that 164 of them were selected using random simple sampling method. The main instrument of this study in qualitative phase was interview and in quantitative phase was questionnaire. Findings revealed that agricultural students have the positive entrepreneurial motivations. The results of mean comparison showed that students’ entrepreneurial motivations were different based on gender, entrepreneurship training courses, entrepreneurship model, study field, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and attitude towards entrepreneurship. Based on multidimensional scaling, students’ entrepreneurial motivation was classified in two dimensions including "economic entrepreneurial motivations" and "psychological entrepreneurial motivations". Results have applications for planners of higher agricultural education system in order to improving the agricultural student's entrepreneurial motivations.

Keywords

References

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