The influence of entrepreneurship education, self-efficacy, and locus of control on accounting students' interest in entrepreneurship

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of entrepreneurship education, self-efficacy, and locus of control on the entrepreneurial interest of accounting students at multiple institutions in Indonesia. This study employed a quantitative approach by surveying 206 accounting students from the Surabaya, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta areas who were in their fifth semester or higher.  The study found that entrepreneurship education, self-efficacy, and locus of control partially and simultaneously increase students' entrepreneurship interest. These findings confirm that students' motivation to start a business increases with entrepreneurship expertise. Self-efficacy boosts students' confidence in their company management and risk-taking skills, making them more likely to become entrepreneurs. Students with an internal locus of control also believe that company success depends on personal work and decisions, making them more proactive and ready for business problems. Theoretically, the results of this study contribute to supporting the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which states that individual beliefs and perceptions of behavioral control influence the intention to behave, specifically to become an entrepreneur. The contribution of this research is the entrepreneurship education policy of accounting study programs in Indonesian universities to improve both hard skills and soft skills for students, thereby reducing the unemployment rate in Indonesia. The study only included accounting students, therefore the findings cannot be applied to other colleges or programs. This study also ignored external factors like subjective norms, business environment, and economic situations that could affect entrepreneurial intention, focusing instead on internal aspects like entrepreneurship education, self-efficacy, and locus of control. Data collection via questionnaires allows for respondent subjectivity. Thus, future studies should include interviews or observations to better understand students' entrepreneurial goals.