Exploring the relationship between entrepreneurial characteristics, entrepreneurship education and intention to be entrepreneur amongst Malaysian undergraduates

The aim of this research is to determine the relationship between entrepreneurial characteristics, entrepreneurship education and the intention to be entrepreneur amongst Malaysian undergraduates. In this study, 300 sets of questionnaires were distributed equally among undergraduate students from Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia, representing the public universities (IPTA) and similarly another 300 sets of questionnaires were distributed equally among undergraduate students from Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA, Kuala Lumpur, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, and Kolej Universiti Infrastruktur Kuala Lumpur representing the private universities (IPTS). In total, 486 completed questionnaires were processed and then analysed using the appropriate statistical tests. The findings of the study indicate that three dimensions of entrepreneur characteristics and entrepreneurial education are positively related to the intention to be entrepreneurs. This research provides useful insights to the entrepreneurship education in Malaysia and it highlights the pertinent entrepreneurial characteristics that can be further developed in nurturing successful entrepreneurs.