How does education influence entrepreneurship orientation? Case study of Croatia

The main focus of this paper is the entrepreneurial orientation, i.e. the future career plans of undergraduate and graduate students at the Faculty of Economics, University of Split. The research is based on empirical data, collected by a student survey. We explore students\u27 entrepreneurial orientation, i.e. their intention to establish their own businesses. The emphasis is placed on the impact of the educational system, in terms of its role of providing knowledge and tools, required for implementing an entrepreneurial idea in practice. Furthermore, we explore the difference in entrepreneurial capabilities between students, enrolled into courses, such as Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Workshop, etc., versus those who were not enrolled into such courses. Empirical data on students’ behaviors is also collected, in terms of their willingness to use additional opportunities, such as scholarships, grants and international work experience, which provides additional evidence of students’ plans for entrepreneurship after finishing their studies. Based on those findings, relevant recommendations are being issued. The main research limitation is related to the fact that research is conducted at a single institution of higher education in Croatia