FACTORS OF ATTITUDES, SUBJECTIVE NORMS, AND PERCEIVED BEHAVIORAL CONTROLS ON THE INTENTION TO BECOME ENTREPRENEURS AMONG THE UNDERGRADUATES FROM THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, BURAPHA UNIVERSITY

Abstract

This quantitative study aimed to: 1) Examine the levels of attitudes toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and entrepreneurial intention; and 2) Analyze the relationships and predictive power of these factors on entrepreneurial intention among undergraduate students in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Burapha University. The sample consisted of 400 undergraduate students selected through proportionate stratified random sampling to ensure representation across all academic programs. The research instrument was a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.96. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation, and inferential statistics, namely Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that the students demonstrated high levels of attitudes toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and entrepreneurial intention. Among these factors, attitudes toward entrepreneurship showed the highest mean score, whereas perceived behavioral control had the lowest. All three factors were positively correlated with entrepreneurial intention at a statistically significant level. Perceived behavioral control showed the strongest correlation with entrepreneurial intention (r = .71). The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that the three variables jointly explained 57.8% of the variance in entrepreneurial intention. Perceived behavioral control was the strongest predictor, followed by subjective norms and attitudes toward entrepreneurship, respectively. These findings reflect that the students in this group possessed strong entrepreneurial intention despite lacking a direct business background. Therefore, the university should enhance students’ confidence through business simulation activities and alumni mentoring programs to further develop entrepreneurial intention into actual entrepreneurial behavior.