Factors Affecting Entrepreneurship Intentions among Technopreneurship Students in Melaka

Entrepreneurs are key drivers of economic growth, making substantial contributions to social and industrial development. In Malaysia, fostering graduates’ entrepreneurial skills is increasingly recognised as a structural solution to combat graduate unemployment. However, empirical studies reveal that graduate entrepreneurial intentions remain low, and the exact determinant factors among technical student groups require further investigation. This study investigates the factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions among undergraduate Technopreneurship (BTEC) students at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM). Grounded in Ajzen's (1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), this study analyzes the impact of attitude towards behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control, alongside the addition of entrepreneurship education as a fourth predictor. Primary data were collected via a structured survey on a 4-point Likert scale, yielding 205 completed questionnaires from BTEC students. Quantitative analysis, including descriptive analysis, Cronbach’s alpha reliability testing, Pearson's correlation, and multiple linear regression, was conducted using SPSS. The empirical results reveal that attitude towards behaviour, perceived behavioural control, and entrepreneurship education have positive, statistically significant relationships with entrepreneurship intention. Attitude towards behaviour emerged as the most critical predictor (β = 0.395, t = 6.106, p = 0.000). Surprisingly, subjective norms had no significant positive relationship with intention, resulting in the rejection of H2. These findings offer actionable insights for higher-education institutions and policymakers to design and refine curricula and support networks to bolster graduate self-employment.

Entrepreneurship, Technopreneurship, Entrepreneurship intention, Theory of Planned Behavior, Entrepreneurship education

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