Social cognitive determinants of entrepreneurial career choice in university students

This article tests a model of entrepreneurial career choice in university students based upon Social Cognitive Career Theory. In particular, we hypothesize that entrepreneurial interests affect career choice and that perceived self-efficacy is related to outcome expectations and both constructs affect interests and career choice. Additionally, this study explores the differences in these variables and tests the generalization of the relationships among students in both entrepreneurship- and non-entrepreneurship-related disciplines. Data collected from a survey of 400 students at a Spanish university are analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance and Partial Least Squares. The findings indicate that self-efficacy exerted positive effects on outcome expectations, entrepreneurial interests, and career choice, which holds for students across disciplines. However, interests are not associated with career choice, whereas the effects of outcome expectations depend on their extrinsic/intrinsic nature and the student’s academic orientation.