Entrepreneurial ambition of teenage students in Western province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Business entrepreneurship is an essential ingredient of economic prosperity and the need to understand the antecedents contributing to entrepreneurial ambition in Sri Lankan teenagers are of paramount importance for successful policy planning in future. The attitudes and the behaviours of youth will be conditioned during the developmental years and as a consequence, perception towards entrepreneurship will be conditioned heavily during this phase of development. Despite the continued interest in promoting entrepreneurship among the young generation, researchers have paid little attention to primary and secondary educational stages. The main objective of this research is to analyse the factors affecting entrepreneurial ambition of teenage students as a career choice. The research is formulated as quantitative research adhering to the deductive approach. Research finds the existence of two factors; Perception of benefits of entrepreneurship and family and friends encouragement contribute to the entrepreneurial ambition of Sri Lankan teenage students. Further it reveals the moderation effect caused by prior entrepreneurial education on the interaction between the perception of the benefits of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ambition. The study reveals the existence of differences concerning entrepreneurial ambition and antecedents in different communities. The study recommends introducing entrepreneurial education with more emphasis on teenage students. The understanding of the preferences of the young generation will support policy efforts in order to create useful avenues for entrepreneurial success of the future.