Entrepreneurship as a career choice: impact of environments on high school students' intentions

Purpose This study investigates the different environments in which high school students go through in their formative years and whether these environments affect their intention to study entrepreneurship as a career choice. Bronfenbrenner's social-ecological theory has been used as a backdrop to capture these environments. Four variables chosen are family support, school environment, self-efficacy and global awareness. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 1770 high school students were chosen through simple random sampling within Gujarat state. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to predict the overall effect of all the environments on Entrepreneurship Education Intention (EEI) of these students. Findings Findings reveal that self-efficacy has the most substantial influence on intentions. Family support and global awareness have a combined significant effect on self-efficacy, which further translates to a significant impact on high school students' intentions. School environment has an effect on global awareness, which in turn has a negative effect on students' willingness to study entrepreneurship in India. Research limitations/implications The study has implications in curriculum design and theory development. The study also provides schools with a framework to understand how to orient their students toward entrepreneurship. Originality/value This paper uses a novel theory that has not been applied in studies related to entrepreneurship education and proposes a model for the same. This novelty also reflects in our findings which have subsequent implications for theory and practice.