The Effect of emotional intelligence on student's entrepreneurship competencies in agricultural majors (Case Study: University of Zanjan)

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of emotional intelligence on students’ entrepreneurship competencies in agricultural majors of University of Zanjan. This study in terms of purpose is considered as an applied research and in terms of data collection is considered as a descriptive and correlation type study. The population of study was including 366 M. Sc. students in agricultural faculty of University of Zanjan. According to Krejcie and Morgan table، a sample size of 280 was selected using a stratified random sampling method (n=280). The standard questionnaire was used to collect the data. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of faculty members in University of Zanjan. A pilot study was conducted to establish reliability of the instrument. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the main scales of questionnaire were at appropriate level (0. 706 to 0. 872). The data analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) multivariate technique. The results showed that the most of respondents were at low and moderate levels in terms of emotional intelligence and entrepreneurship competencies. Also، the results indicated that emotional intelligence and its components including interpersonal skills، intrapersonal skills، adaptability، change management and self-motivation were explained about 35 percent of variances of entrepreneurship competencies.