The role of study program in forming entrepreneurial intentions and tendency towards effectual logic

Doprinos poduzetništva i poduzetničkog ponašanja u povećanju zaposlenosti i ekonomskog blagostanja prepoznat je kao jedna od snažnih okosnica nacionalnih programa poticanja poduzetništva u mnogim zemljama. U skladu s tim, obrazovni programi u području poduzetništva nastoje povećati poduzetnički potencijal pojedinca kroz razvoj poduzetničkih znanja i vještina. Očekivani ishodi takvih programa obuhvaćaju povećanje broja novih poduzetničkih pothvata, ali i osnaživanje poduzetničkog načina ponašanja i promišljanja općenito. Fokus ovog rada usmjeren je na istraživanje povezanosti studijskog usmjerenja studenata završne godine ekonomskog fakulteta s dvjema zavisnim varijablama: poduzetničkim namjerama i sklonosti primjeni efektualne logike. Uzorak je obuhvatio 333 studenata koji studiraju na pet različitih studijskih smjerova ekonomskog fakulteta. Namjere za poduzimanje određenog ponašanja prihvaćene su kao najbolji prediktor tog ponašanja i u znanstvenim istraživanjima najčešće se proučavaju kroz okvir teorije planiranog ponašanja. Efektualna logika ili efektuacija interdisciplinarno je istraživačko područje koje u posljednjih 10 godina predstavlja atraktivnu varijablu u istraživanjima poduzetništva. Efektualna logika podrazumijeva model promišljanja i donošenja odluka u situacijama visoke neizvjesnosti kada je budućnost izrazito teško ili nemoguće predvidjeti. U ovom radu efektualna logika promatra se kroz pet osnovnih principa efektuacije te dodatni konstrukt sklonosti kontroliranju budućnosti. Empirijski dio rada sastoji se od dva dijela i obuhvaća metode bivarijatne statistike (t-test nezavisnih uzoraka i ANOVA) za utvrđivanje razlike među grupama. Prvo je ispitan odnos demografskih varijabli (s naglaskom na studijsko usmjerenje) i namjera za pokretanjem poduzetničkog pothvata. U konačnici, analiza je proširena objašnjenjem odnosa studijskog usmjerenja prema pet dimenzija efektualne logike i sklonosti kontroliranju budućnosti. Rezultati upućuju na snažnu pozitivnu povezanost studijskog usmjerenja i poduzetničkih namjera te na slabu povezanost studijskog usmjerenja i pojedinih dimenzija efektuacije.The contribution of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behavior to boosting employment and economic well-being has been recognized as one of the strong cornerstones of many national programs focused on promoting entrepreneurship. Accordingly, educational programs in the field of entrepreneurship seek to increase the entrepreneurial potential of an individual through the development of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills. The expected outcomes of such programs include an increase in the number of new entrepreneurial ventures, as well as an enhancement of entrepreneurial way of behaving and thinking. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between the academic major of business students and two dependent variables: entrepreneurial intentions and propensity to apply effectual logic in the business decision-making process. The sample comprised 333 students studying five different majors within the field of economics and management. The intention for undertaking a certain behavior is regarded as the best predictor of the particular behavior and is usually explored within the theory of planned behavior. Effectual logic or effectuation is an interdisciplinary research field that has attracted many entrepreneurship scholars in the last ten years. It implies a way of reasoning and decision making in highly uncertain situations in which the future is difficult or even impossible to predict. In this paper, the effectual logic is observed through five main dimensions of effectuation as well as an additional construct that relates to one’s tendency to control the future. The empirical section of the paper consists of two parts and encompasses the methods of bivariate statistics (independent samples t-test and ANOVA) for determining the differences between the groups. First, the relationship between demographic variables (with the focus on the academic major) and entrepreneurial intentions was examined. Secondly, the analysis is expanded by explaining the relationship between the academic major and five dimensions of effectual logic, as well as the tendency to control the future. The results suggest a strong positive correlation between the academic major and entrepreneurial intention, and a relatively weak correlation between the academic major and some dimensions of effectuation