Study-related determinants of university graduates’ entrepreneurship

Abstract

Objective: The study undertook an assessment – unique in Polish conditions – of the factors related to higher education differentiating the group of graduates of the Jagiellonian University (JU) in terms of their professional activity in the context of taking up employment or starting self-employment.

Research Design & Methods: Lazear’s theory was applied to find study-related entrepreneurship determinants. The study attempted to determine the factors influencing the employment of Jagiellonian University graduates or their self-employment. The following explanatory variables were used during the study: scientific discipline and students’ faculty, professional activity or possibly running a business by the student, mode of study (full-time versus part-time), and scientific and non-scientific activities such as volunteering, undertaking studies abroad, and internships. The analyzes were based on data collected during the alumni career paths research of more than 6000 graduates who completed their studies between 2015 and 2019.

Findings: The Mann-Whitney test and parametric t-Student tests showed that graduates of the JU who started a business, as opposed to those who work as employed persons, already set up a business during their studies and then continued it or started other types of business activity. Regarding the two analysed groups of students, there were significant differences in the completed faculty, study mode (full-time versus part-time), student internships, studies, internships abroad, and volunteering.

Implications & Recommendations: The results of the analyses can be used by several groups of beneficiaries. Firstly, they can be useful for high school graduates intending to start higher education, as they indicate such disciplines and fields of study, after which the chances of professional success are the highest. The second group interested in the results of this work might be university students, who, based on its results, may undertake additional academic and non-academic activities that could increase their chances of professional success. Thirdly, the management of universities can use the results of research when preparing an educational offer that would be best suited to the needs of the labour market.

Contribution & Value Added: The subject of factors differentiating the professional attitudes of university graduates, especially in countries undergoing systemic transformation, is insufficiently explored. Deficiencies in quantitative research based on large sets of data are particularly visible. This article fills this gap by pointing to the factors that significantly affect self-employment or hired work by graduates of the oldest and one of the most renowned universities in Poland.

Keywords

graduates’ entrepreneurship, graduates’ employment, Lazear’s theory, Jagiellonian University, Poland

Author Biography

Mariusz Trojak

PhD, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Economics, Finance and Management Jagiellonian University. Mariusz Trojak is a lecturer and researcher in Economics and Finance. His main research focus is on the micro and macroeconomics efficiency and determinants of regional and local economic development.

Paulina Hojda

Graduated from the Institute of Sociology at the Jagiellonian University (MA) and Master’s Programme in Political Sociology at Hőgskolan Dalarna in Sweden. She is a student at the Doctoral School of Social Sciences at the University of Łódź. She works at the Careers Service Centre for Academic Support at Jagiellonian University and has fifteen years of experience in conducting quantitive research in the area of quality of teaching (University graduates’ transition to the labour market).

Sylwia Roszkowska

Associate Professor at the University of Łódź. Her research fields include labour market economics, educational economics, regional economic development and macroprudential policy. She is an expert in econometric modelling using not only macro-level data but also large individual datasets. She gained experience in conducting analyses on modelling economic trends in Narodowy Bank Polski and several research projects.

References

1. Ahuja, V., Akhtar, A., & Wali, O.P. (2019). Development of a comprehensive model of social entrepreneurial intention formation using a quality tool. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 9, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497-019-0164-4
2. Ajzen, I. (1991). The Theory of Planned Behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
3. Åstebro, T., & Thompson, P. (2011). Entrepreneurs, Jacks of all trades or Hobos?. Research Policy, 40(5), 637-649. ISSN 0048-7333, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2011.01.010
4. Ayob, N., Yap, C.S., Sapuan, D.A., & Rashidd, Z.A. (2013). Social entrepreneurial intention among business undergraduates: An emerging economy perspective. Gadjah Mada International Journal of Business, 15, 249-267. https://doi.org/10.22146/gamaijb.5470
5. Chung, D., & Parker, S. (2020). Why Do Generalists Become Entrepreneurs? Revisiting the Jack of All Trades Theory. Academy of Management, https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2020.12751abstract
6. Dolton, P., & Silles, M. (2001). Over education in the graduate labor market: some evidence from alumni data (No. 9). Centre for the Economics of Education, London School of Economics and Political Science.
7. Douglas, E.J., & Shepherd, D.A. (2002). Self-Employment as a Career Choice: Attitudes, Entrepreneurial Intentions, and Utility Maximization. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 26(3), 81-90. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225870202600305
8. European Commission. (2006). Recommendation 2006/962/EC on key competencies for lifelong learning. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:394:0010:0018:en:PDF on October 20, 2022.
9. Gano, E., & Łuczka, T. (2020). Determinanty intencji przedsiębiorczych studentów. Przedsiębiorczość-Edukacja, 16(1), 31-44. https://doi.org/10.24917/20833296.161.3
10. Green, F., & Saridakis, G. (2008). The role of higher education skills and support in graduate self‐employment, Studies in Higher Education, 33, 653-672. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802457082
11. Habibov, N., Afandi, E., & Cheung, A. (2016). What is the effect of university education on chances to be self-employed in transitional countries?: Instrumental variable analysis of a cross-sectional sample of 29 nations, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-016-0409-4
12. Jasiński, M., Bożykowski, M., Chłoń-Domińczak, A., Zając, T., & Żółtak, M. (2017). Who gets a job after graduation? Factors affecting the early career employment chances of higher education graduates in Poland. EDUKACJA Quarterly, 143(4), https://doi.org/10.24131/3724.170402
13. Krueger N.F. (1993). The impact of prior entrepreneurial exposure on perceptions of new venture feasibility and desirability. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 18(1), 5-21, https://doi.org/10.1177/104225879301800101
14. Krueger, N.F., & Brazeal, D.V. (1994). Entrepreneurial Potential and Potential Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 18(3), 91-104. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225879401800307
15. Kurczewska, A., & Mackiewicz, M. (2020). Are jacks-of-all-trades successful entrepreneurs? Revisiting Lazear’s theory of entrepreneurship. Baltic Journal of Management, 15, 411-430. https://doi.org/10.1108/BJM-07-2019-0274
16. Kunasz, M. (2008). Zachowania przedsiębiorcze studentów w świetle badań ankietowych. Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, 222(3), 65-86. https://doi.org/10.33119/GN/101316
17. Lazear, P. (2002). Entrepreneurship. NBER Working Paper No. w9109. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/papers/w9109 on October 20, 2022.
18. Mann, H.B., & Whitney, D.R. (1947). On a test of whether one of two random variables is stochastically larger than the other. The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 50-60. https://doi.org/10.1214/aoms/1177730491
19. Odlin, D., Benson-Rea, M., & Sullivan-Taylor, B. (2022). Student internships and work placements: approaches to risk management in higher education. Higher Education, 83(6), 1409-1429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00749-w
20. OECD. (2022). Education at a glance 2022. Retrieved from https://gpseducation.oecd.org/Content/EAGCountryNotes/EAG2022_Poland.pdf on October 20, 2022.
21. Pinto, L.H., & Pereira, P.C. (2019). ‘I wish to do an internship (abroad)’: investigating the perceived employability of domestic and international business internships. Higher Education, 78(3), 443-461. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0351-1
22. Piróg, D. (2014). Determinants of entrepreneurship of higher education graduates: theoretical assumptions vs. Reality, Przedsiębiorczość–Edukacja, 10. Retrieved from https://p-e.up.krakow.pl/article/view/1762/1518 on October 7, 2022.
23. Shapero, A. (1975). The displaced, uncomfortable entrepreneur. Psychology Today, 9, 83-88.
24. Shapero, A., & Sokol, L. (1982). The social dimensions of entrepreneurship, Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 72-90.
25. Silva, O. (2007). The Jack-of-all-trades entrepreneur: innate talent or acquired skill?. Economics Letters, 97(2), 118-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2007.02.027
26. Stuetzer, M., Obschonka, M., Davidsson, P., & Schmitt-Rodermund, E. (2013a). Where do entrepreneurial skills come from. Applied Economics Letters, 20(12), 1183-1186, https:// doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2013.797554
27. Stuetzer, M., Obschonka, M., & Schmitt-Rodermund, E. (2013b). Balanced skills among nascent entrepreneurs. Small Bus Econ, 41, 93-114, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-012-9423-2
28. Sułkowski, Ł. (2016). Accountability of university: Transition of public higher education. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 4(1), 9-21. https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2016.040102
29. Tyrowicz, J., Smyk, M., & Liberda, B. (2017). Talent workers as entrepreneurs: a new approach to aspirational self-employment. Bank i Kredyt, 48(6), 571-592. Retrieved from https://bankikredyt.nbp.pl/content/2017/06/BIK_06_2017_03.pdf on October 17, 2022.
30. Wach, K. (2015). Środowisko biznesu rodzinnego jako stymulanta intencji przedsiębiorczych młodzieży akademickiej. Przedsiębiorczości i Zarządzanie, XVI(7/III), 25-40.
31. Wach, K., & Bilan, S. (2021). Public support and administration barriers towards entrepreneurial intentions of students in Poland. Administratie si Management Public, 36, 67-80. https:// doi.org/10.24818/amp/2021.36-04
32. Wasilczuk, J. (2021). Przedsiębiorczość cyfrowa oparta na blogu – wiwisekcja. E-management. Tom I. Digitalizacja procesów biznesowych, 75-90. Retrieved from https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/item/278590/kopera_e-management_t-1_2021.pdf on October 20, 2022.
33. Wagner, J. (2006). Are nascent entrepreneurs ‘jacks-of-all-trades’? A test of Lazear’s theory of entrepreneurship with German data. Applied Economics, 38(20), 2415-2419. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840500427783
34. Wilcoxon, F. (1945). Some uses of statistics in plant pathology. Biometrics Bulletin, 1(4), 41-45. https://doi.org/10.2307/3002011
35. Zhang, P., Wang, D.D., & Owen, C.L. (2015). A study of entrepreneurial intention of university students. Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 5(1), 61-82. https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2014-0004