A Proposal for a Standard With Innovation Management System

Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie, Afsaneh Bagheri and Zaidatol Haslinda Abdullah Sani
a deliberate and planed behavior that can be improved by education and training. Accordingly,
researchers and educators attempted to improve students’ entrepreneurial intention through
developing their entrepreneurial skills, highlighting the merits and benefits of entrepreneurship for
personal and social development and providing support for students to experience entrepreneurship
(Souitaris et al. 2007; Segal et al. 2005; Liñán et al. 2005; Ajzen 2002; Krueger et al. 2000).
Enormous research efforts have been directed to examining the impacts of entrepreneurship
education on students’ intention to choose entrepreneurship as their future career path (Wu and Wu
2008; Fayolle et al. 2006; Peterman and Kennedy 2003). The majority of the research shows a
significant association between entrepreneurship education and students’ entrepreneurial intention.
However, there still remain many unaddressed questions about students’ level of entrepreneurial
intention specifically in terms of the value of entrepreneurial activities for students, their family, friends,
colleagues and people in the community.
2.3 Theory of social cognition
Social cognitive theory defines human action as a function of the interplay between personal,
behavioral, and environmental factors (Bandura 1997). One of the main components of the theory is
self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is the personal cognitive evaluation of one’s abilities to successfully perform
a specific task. Applying this definition to entrepreneurship domain, Chen et al. (1998) defined
entrepreneurial self-efficacy as the strength of beliefs in one’s capabilities to successfully perform the
roles and tasks of an entrepreneur. Self-efficacy improves individuals’ desire to choose
entrepreneurship as their career path despite the presence of other alternatives (Boyd and Vozikis
1994). Entrepreneurial self-efficacy has also been considered as one of the personal traits which
motivates entrepreneurial intention and behavior (DePillis and Reardon 2007; Segal et al. 2005;
DeNoble et al. 1999; Chen et al. 1998) and enables entrepreneurs to cope with uncertainties,
ambiguities, and challenges of the whole entrepreneurship processes (Kumar 2007; Wilson et al.
2007; Zhao et al. 2005; Shane et al. 2003).
Importantly, entrepreneurial self-efficacy can be enhanced by education and experience (Baum and
Locke 2004; Rae and Carswell 2000). To develop different aspects of entrepreneurial self-efficacy in
students, entrepreneurship education involves them in various learning opportunities including
mastery experience, modeling, social persuasion, and judgment of psychological state. To experience
mastery of entrepreneurial tasks, students develop business plans and/or run simulated or real
businesses. Case studies and work with an entrepreneur on course projects introduce role models to
students and improve their entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Students are persuaded and supported by
positive encouragement and mentoring from their instructors or professors. Finally, students’
assessment about their psychological state is enhanced by studying lifestyle or work style of
successful entrepreneurs or listening to successful entrepreneurs’ lectures. Being involved in these
activities shape students’ perception and view about their entrepreneurial capabilities and enhance
their motivation to get involved in entrepreneurial behaviors (Wilson et al. 2007; Fayolle et al. 2006;
Zhao et al. 2005; Erikson 2003). However, providing purposeful education and training based on
students’ strengths and weaknesses in different aspects of their entrepreneurial self-efficacy requires
appropriate assessment of this quality among students (Chen et al. 1998). Drawing upon the
theoretical foundations described above, this study attempts to explore the level and pattern of
regulatory focus, entrepreneurial intention, self efficacy and entrepreneurial skills among students of
Malaysian private higher leaning institutions.
3. Methodology
This study utilizes a descriptive research design to determine level and pattern of self-regulation
focus, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, intention and skills. Data were collected via a questionnaire
consisting of 50 items. The questionnaire is divided into five subsections including: 1. demographic
information (such as age, gender, field of study and experience in business), 2. regulatory orientation
(promotion and prevention focus) 3. entrepreneurial intention (entrepreneurial activities and social
valuation), 4. entrepreneurial self-efficacy (in marketing, accounting, organizing and personnel and
production management) and 5. entrepreneurial skills (opportunity recognition, creativity, problem
solving, leadership and communication skills, development of new products and services, networking
skills). The section of the questionnaire on self-regulation included both aspects of the construct
which are: promotion focus and prevention focus. These aspects were measured by using the
Regulatory Focus questionnaire developed by Grant and Higgins (2003). This instrument has been
shown to have strong construct validity and reliability in a number of studies. Entrepreneurial self-
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