The Relationship between Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Intention of Agricultural Students at University of Tarbiiat Modarres

The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention of agricultural students at University of Tarbiat Modarres. The statistical population of the study contained of all M.Sc. students in agriculture faculty of Tarbiat Modarres (N=420), from which 124 students were selected by using SPSS Sample Power software. Simple random sampling was employed in selection of the respondents. A questionnaire was developed to gather data. Validity and reliability of the research instrument were confirmed based on the evaluation of a panel of experts and ordinal alpha coefficient (0.89 & 0.95), respectively. The results indicated that the entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention of the students in most cases were either intermediate or high. The results of correlation analysis revealed that there was a positive significant (at 1% significance level) relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and students' entrepreneurial intention. The results also showed that there was a positive significant (at 1% significance level) relationship between sub-dimensions of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (developing new opportunities, coping with unexpected challenges, developing critical human resources, building an innovative environment, initiating investor relationships and defining core purpose) and students' entrepreneurial intention. The multiple regression also revealed that developing new opportunities and building an innovative environment significantly can predict 40 percent of variations intention toward future entrepreneurship.