Locus of control and entrepreneurial intention: a study in a developing economy

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of locus of control (internal and external) on entrepreneurial intention of final year undergraduate students in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts descriptive and cross-sectional survey designs. It also employs quantitative approach to collect the data from 300 final year undergraduate students in selected universities in Ghana. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and hierarchical regression techniques. Findings The results reveal that there is a positive relationship between locus of control (both internal and external) and entrepreneurial intention. However, it is found that external locus of control has more influence on entrepreneurial intention compared to internal locus of control. In addition, gender has no controlling effect on the relationship between locus of control and entrepreneurial intention. Practical implications The findings imply that entrepreneurial course contents should include topics on locus of control that will expose the students to the reality of their environments so as to learn how to take control and create opportunities out of their environments. Again, students should be encouraged and educated on how to build up personality traits such as the need for achievement, innovativeness and risk-taking, since these traits have direct impact on their locus of control which in turn impacts on their entrepreneurial intentions. Originality/value This study contributes to entrepreneurship literature by investigating determinants of entrepreneurial intention from a different perspective, and reveals that individuals (regardless of their gender) with external locus of control are more likely to become entrepreneurs in a developing economy.