Human Capital and Theory of Planned Behavior: Unraveling Entrepreneurial Intentions of IT Students in Pakistan

Abstract

Human capital variables (such as practical learning, education and experience) affect cognitive decision making abilities of individuals which permit them to identify entrepreneurial opportunities. Therefore, this study aims to establish an integrated model considering the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and human capital variables considering Pakistan as a sample, especially targeting IT major students. Data for the study were collected from 227 IT major students from seven universities from different provinces of Pakistan. Principal component analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis are used for data analysis. The findings of the study confirm the validity of TPB model in predicting entrepreneurial intentions among IT major students. This study further confirms the effect of human capital variables within TPB framework and demonstrates that prior entrepreneurial exposure (PEE) and prior familial exposure (PFE) have an impact on attitude towards entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the relationship of PEE and PFE in predicting entrepreneurial intentions was found insignificant and significant respectively. This is one of the first studies which explore entrepreneurial intentions among IT major students regarding a developing country. Furthermore, this study provides valuable insights to practitioners and educators in Pakistan for consideration of human capital variables’ influence on entrepreneurial behavior and entrepreneurial intentions among IT major students.