Cultural Factors and Entrepreneurial Mindset : The Role of Entrepreneurship Education

Universities provide entrepreneurship-specific education (ESE) to equip students with the skills required to pursue entrepreneurial careers in new firms and innovative private and public sector organizations. Building upon insights from entrepreneurial event theory, cultural values theory and human capital theory, this study explores the linkage between perceived local cultural environment, ESE investment, and the intensity of entrepreneurial mindset with regard to becoming an entrepreneur. Survey information from 321 students from three universities in the Ukraine was hand collected. Business students taking part in ESE were compared to engineering students not taking part in ESE. Hierarchical multiple ordinary least squares regression analysis revealed that students who cited a perceived desirability and perceived feasibility for entrepreneurship, initiative taking culture, and participation in ESE reported significantly higher intensity of entrepreneurial mindset. Conversely, students who cited the capability beliefs culture factor reported significantly lower intensity of mindset. ESE interactions with perceived cultural factors as well as perceived desirability and perceived feasibility for entrepreneurship were not significantly associated with higher intensity of entrepreneurial mindset. Findings are discussed with regard to research and practitioner implications