A statistical analysis on the impact of access and use of social network sites to inducing entrepreneurial intention among university undergraduates students. A case study of Makerere University

Abstract

The general objective of this research was to investigate the impact of the use and access of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) on business undergraduate students' entrepreneurial intentions in the Makerere university context. The study is based on Ajzen's theory of planned behavior in measuring entrepreneurial intention. A technology use and adoption and the technology acceptance model are used as the basis of the study model. The study questionnaire was developed, validated, and distributed. Also, stratified sampling was employed to determine the sample size that was to be used, hence 406 students were sampled. Furthermore, the results of the study confirm the impact of use, trust to employ and ease of use of SNS on students’ entrepreneurial intentions (p=0.002, 0.000 and 0.011, respectively) and support their worthiness unto business evolution. All antecedents had positive correlation coefficients (0.505, 0.651 and 0.774, respectively) with entrepreneurial intention. This indicated that an increase in any of the antecedents, would imply an increase in entrepreneurial intentions of students. The factors considered important, that is to say Entrepreneurial Intention, Usage of S.N.S, Trust of S.N.S use, Ease of use, exhibited good and acceptable reliability (0.809, 0.676, 0.671 and 0.772, respectively). These remarkable findings have significant practical and academic implications for policymakers and entrepreneurial education, such as how to direct the use of new and popular communication and Internet technologies to foster entrepreneurship among the youth. In addition, with the positive regression coefficients of the antecedents (0.236, 133 and 0.443, respectively), the study recommended that learning institutions and the government should avail internet and IT based equipment so as to see students have an intensive usage of SNS, focusing on uplifting privacy and security of data, information and personal documents present on SNS so as to ensure internet safety of businesses entities. Concerned parties should also make features of SNS more diversified business-wise and user-friendly to ensure ease of use of such sites. Nevertheless, SNS are acknowledged as powerful, useful, low-cost platforms for young entrepreneurs to run new businesses. And the results suggest that student entrepreneurial intention is influenced by SNS usage, trust to employ, ease of use and the understanding of these sites as tools and platforms to practice and launch entrepreneurial activities.