Influence of gender and age on social entrepreneurship intentions among university students in Gauteng Province, South Africa

Abstract

Research on social entrepreneurship has sparked a responsive chord among researchers worldwide. Despite having a global presence, empirical research investigating the prevalence of social entrepreneurship in South Africa is still rare. The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether there are significant differences regarding the influence of gender and age on social entrepreneurship intentions among university students. A questionnaire was administered among 294 students from selected universities in the Gauteng province, South Africa. Using factor analysis procedure, six factors that influence social entrepreneurship intentions among university students were extracted. ANOVA was then applied to examine the differences regarding the influence of gender and age on social entrepreneurship intentions. Significant differences were found in terms of the influence of gender and age on social entrepreneurial intentions and attitude towards entrepreneurship among students. Therefore, it is recommended that universities should create a favourable environment that positively nurtures student’s intentions towards social entrepreneurship.

Keywords: Social entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship intentions, gender, age