Introduction
The study is an investigation on the level of effectiveness of motivational training programs on entrepreneurship on university students. This study is based on the premise that entrepreneurial development impacts positively on the development of the country. The study aims at investigating motivation in academic entrepreneurship in an academic setting and how such academic programs are organized and structured. The implications of the study include addressing comprehensible motivational training aims with a view to improving the skills of students and develop a networking group that facilitates entrepreneurship processes.
Methods
The study was a descriptive research design where a sample of 1554 university students collected from three Malaysian universities. Data was collected through questionnaires which questioned students on their entrepreneurial intentions and background information. The questionnaire comprised of a Likert scale where scores were recorded and data analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results
The results indicated that in general, students indicated a moderate perception on entrepreneurial intention components such as wanting to be their own boss and having capital to invest. Secondly, they also scored moderately on risk taking and innovativeness. This indicates that “more entrepreneurial” attitudes on an entrepreneurial career drove the intention to begin one’s own business.
Conclusion
The significance of these findings is that the study expands the understanding of the driving force behind the intention of students to become entrepreneurs. The findings helped in the understanding of the importance of exposing students to entrepreneurship in terms of finance, management and marketing competencies, which may lead to a career choice in entrepreneurship (Munir, Idrus, Shukur, Ithnin & Mohamad, 2015). Policy makers may want to encourage self-employment, and this can be achieved by developing more positive attitudes and self-efficacy.
Does Opinion Leadership Increase the Followers on Twitter
Advanced technologies in internet communication channels provide effective and convenient means for users with common interests to communicate. One such technology is Twitter. This study explores the possibility and procedure of opinion leadership through Twitter in the situation of the users. The study is an analysis of the motivational effect on the opinion leadership of Twitter users.
Method
A sample of 396 respondents, all of whom were Twitter users was used. This sample consisted of 242 males and 154 females. Data was collected through online surveys distributed through Twitter. Measurements were done on the intentions of the users in using Twitter. This was classified under Factor analysis. Where four major components were involved: intention to participate socially through exchange of information; intention to create a followers group; self-esteem and opinion leadership. The data collected was analyzed through the Structural Equation Model (SEM).
Results
After analysis, Twitter users with higher self-esteem were found to have an enhanced level of opinion leadership. This suggests that the self-esteem may be a positive background for the opinion leadership of individuals. This study indicates that a high self-esteem is linked with an enhanced motivational style, which contributes to better performance and better self-confidence.
Conclusion/ Significance
This study indicates that Twitter could be used as a platform to collect social members who share the same social issues (Hwang, 2015). Social issues on Twitter, as well as influential information act as moderators that attract a great portion of members of the public into cyber-space. In this process, opinion leadership is crucial because it goes beyond personal resources, socio-economic status and informational variables.
References
Hwang, Y. (2015). Does Opinion Leadership Increase the Followers onTwitter?. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 5(3), 258-264.
Munir, Z. A., Idrus, S., Shukur, S. A., Ithnin, R., & Mohamad, S. S. (2015). The Effectiveness of Entrepreneurial Motivational Training Programme among University Students. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 5(5), 487-490.
