Social Media and Entrepreneurial Intentions

This dissertation aims to understand the issue of social media use in the development of entrepreneurial intentions among students. It explores the ways in which social media changes self-presentation and examines its influence on entrepreneurial intentions.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Social Media and Entrepreneurial Intentions
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study. I
am indebted to my supervisor ……………………. whose guidance, advice and patience have
been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the…………… [Mention your
university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this
thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education
Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research
would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research work
helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or completed!
Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

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Abstract
The aim or purpose of the research is to understand the issue of social media use in development
of entrepreneurial intention among the students. Change is the only constant thing and change
across different business sectors is highly evident. With time, new phenomenon arises that
provide new dimensions and prospects to business environment. Thus, it can be said that the
business world is not safe from the constant changes that keeps coming up with changing need of
the target market and audiences. Since the emergence of social media, it has served as a tool that
ensured improved interaction for the younger interaction. Therefore, due to the various benefits
that social media offers, the use of social networking sites has changed the face of the business
sector significantly.
Less and minimal emphasis has been seen on the problems of developing entrepreneurial
intentions for the students that has contributed to the career choice for several students.
Additionally, significant literature gaps has been identified in previous literatures developed
based on entrepreneurship that requires further understanding of the gaps or the issues. The
rationale behind selecting this research topic is that social media offers both platform and space
for the individual students so that they can indulge them in creativity and making impression on
others suitably. However, it needs to be argued on the use of social media platform for creating
space for self-presentation and creating greater impact on others. Additionally, undertaking the
research is also significant because this will allow in evaluating and analyzing the role social has
to offer in influencing the entrepreneurial intentions of the students thereby, making it
successful.

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Positivism philosophy, deductive approach, descriptive design and survey research strategy has
been appointed. In accordance with the aforementioned methodological tools, 100 students have
been selected as the sample size using simple random probability technique that intends to
achieve the aim of the current research suitably. Primary data collection process with quantitative
data analysis technique has been used that helps in converting the responses collected into graphs
and numeric so that it can be used meaningfully in the research. Moreover, regression analysis
has also been used for analyzing the gathered data.
From the descriptive analysis, it can depicted that the students of all age groups but mainly 26-35
years with educational qualification of bachelor, master and PhD and varied duration of study
and using social media for more than a year are using the different social media platforms
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn for developing their entrepreneurial
intentions successfully. As the p-value obtained is less than 0.05, it can be implied that social
media usage has a significant impact and difference in developing entrepreneurial intentions
among the students. The students are well aware of the benefits of the social media platforms and
know that it can be used for venturing into new business ideas. Social media have no constraints
in terms of communication and facilitate the users are able to stay connected, updated and
informative about the latest changes in the business sector just a click away. As a result, the
students are able to grill their mind and entrepreneurial intentions thereby, giving them a
direction.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................10
1.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................10
1.1 Problem statement...............................................................................................................12
1.2 Research aim........................................................................................................................12
1.3 Research objectives.............................................................................................................13
1.4 Research questions...............................................................................................................13
1.5 Research rationale................................................................................................................13
1.6 Structure of the dissertation.................................................................................................14
1.7 Summary..............................................................................................................................16
Chapter 2: Literature review..........................................................................................................17
2.1 Overview..............................................................................................................................17
2.2 Emergence of social media..................................................................................................17
2.3 Different types of social media platforms...........................................................................19
2.3.1 Instagram......................................................................................................................20
2.3.2 YouTube.......................................................................................................................21
2.3.3 Twitter...........................................................................................................................22
2.3.4 LinkedIn........................................................................................................................22
2.4 Theory of planned behavior and social media usage...........................................................23

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2.5 Use of social media platforms among students...................................................................24
2.6 Role of social media in developing entrepreneurial intentions...........................................25
2.7 Social media and entrepreneurship......................................................................................26
2.7.1 Challenges of using social media in for Students.........................................................27
2.7.2 Benefits of using social media among students............................................................29
2.7.4 Factors affecting student’s entrepreneurial intentions..................................................32
2.7.5 Impact of social media on entrepreneurial intentions...................................................34
2.8 Research hypotheses............................................................................................................35
2.9 Summary..............................................................................................................................35
Chapter 3: Research methodology.............................................................................................37
3.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................37
3.1 Research outline...................................................................................................................37
3.2 Research philosophy............................................................................................................38
3.2.1 Providing the rationale for settling on positivism philosophy......................................38
3.3 Research approach...............................................................................................................39
3.3.1 Providing the rationale for settling on deductive approach..........................................39
3.4 Research design...................................................................................................................40
3.4.1 Providing the rationale for settling on descriptive design............................................40
3.5 Research strategy.................................................................................................................40
3.5.1 Providing the rationale for settling on survey research strategy...................................41

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3.6 Sampling technique and sample size...................................................................................41
3.6.1 Providing the rationale for settling on probability sampling technique.......................42
3.7 Data collection process........................................................................................................42
3.7.1 Providing the rationale for settling on primary data collection process.......................43
3.8 Data analysis technique.......................................................................................................43
3.8.1 Providing the rationale for settling on quantitative data analysis technique................44
3.9 Ethical considerations..........................................................................................................44
3.10 Accessibility issues............................................................................................................45
3.11 Summary............................................................................................................................45
Chapter 4: Data analysis and interpretations.................................................................................47
4.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................47
4.1 Findings and analysis...........................................................................................................47
4.1.1 Descriptive analysis......................................................................................................47
4.1.2 Inferential analysis........................................................................................................53
4.2 Interpretation of the results..................................................................................................58
4.3 Summary..............................................................................................................................68
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations...........................................................................71
5.0 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................71
5.1 Linking with objectives.......................................................................................................73
5.2 Recommendations................................................................................................................74

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5.3 Future scope of the study.....................................................................................................75
References......................................................................................................................................77
Appendix 1.....................................................................................................................................86
Survey questionnaire.................................................................................................................86
SECTION 1: DEMOGRAPHICS..........................................................................................86
SECTION II: SOCIAL MEDIA (scale)................................................................................87
SECTION III: SELF-EFFICACY (scale)..............................................................................89
SECTION IV: ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS (Intentions to start a business)........89

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List of Figures
Figure 1: Brief history of Social Media.........................................................................................18
Figure 2: Facebook, Internet and World population......................................................................19
Figure 3: Instagram age group statistics........................................................................................21
Figure 4: Demographics................................................................................................................49
Figure 5: Use of social media tools...............................................................................................51
Figure 6: Posting online contents by students...............................................................................52

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List of Tables
Table 1: Regression analysis.........................................................................................................55
Table 2: Correlation analysis.........................................................................................................57

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Overview
Change is the only constant thing and change across different business sectors is highly
evident. With time, new phenomenon arises that provide new dimensions and prospects to
business environment. Thus, it can be said that the business world is not safe from the constant
changes that keeps coming up with changing need of the target market and audiences. The
emergence of social media is one such change that took the business sector by storm and offered
new dimensions and prospects to the business organizations. As commented by Kadam and
Ayarekar (2014), the emergence of social media has provided several opportunities to the
business organizations in terms of communications, sharing of information and innovations.
Additionally, using social media for business purposes is highly advantageous because this
virtual platform offers communication and selling regardless of time and place.
The business organizations and the business conducted by them are highly responsible for
contributing towards the world economy. According to Surugiu and Surugiu (2015),
entrepreneurial intentions and innovations influences and is responsible for the revolution of the
world economy. The mindset of seeing entrepreneurial behaviors and careers have changed over
the years and people have started developing positive value and opinions towards entrepreneurial
intentions suitably. Studies indicate that the role and influence of social media has been
contributing positively towards the development of entrepreneurial intentions for the students. It
has been also noted that between the two kinds of entrepreneurial intentions of deliberate and
impulsive, the role of the social media has been revolutionary in shaping the twin levels of
entrepreneurial skills and intentions (Read et al. 2016).

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Studies conducted in the past highlights the issues of using social media in various forms
of marketing due to which this has been considered as a grey area in research for long.
Additionally, studies conducted in the past also reveal that the cognitive factors are the main
factors that influences the youth towards the development of entrepreneurial intentions among
the students. As a result, it is imperative to understand the role of the cognitive factors that
allows in appreciating social media platform in flourishing entrepreneurship (Nambisan 2017).
Since the emergence of social media, it has served as a tool that ensured improved
interaction for the younger interaction. Therefore, due to the various benefits that social media
offers, the use of social networking sites has changed the face of the business sector
significantly. The role of social media is undermined for making only positive changes in the
career choices of the individuals. Adequate technological advancement has facilitated improved
social media interaction using Facebook and Instagram. Both Facebook and Instagram have
played significant roles in influencing the entrepreneurs for making suitable and adequate career
choices. Therefore, it can be said that social media has a positive relationship with the
entrepreneurial intentions of the students (Daskalaki, Hjjorth and Mair 2015).
Since the emergence of social media, there is no looking back for the users, be it
individuals or the business organizations. Social media is highly preferred and facilitated by the
users as well as business organizations due to the various opportunities and benefits it offers
significantly. One of the major reasons that helped social media gain popularity and recognition
is the effective communication it offers to the active users. The users can communicate and
connect to different parts of the world through social media platforms without being physically
present. Various social media platform have numerous users that mount up to approximately
2.46 billion active users and has no scope of slowing down (Bruton et al. 2015).

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The students or the youths are the key players that result in economic development of the
countries significantly. The education and the vision of the students help the countries reach
greater heights and innovations when it comes to development of business sector. As mentioned
by Chell et al. (2016), social media for students plays a significant role, as this provides an
opportunity for developing social capital for the students suitably. Social media platform
provides an opportunity for the students to remain connected with the rest the world at their
finger tip and gather wide and required knowledge about upcoming business trends and needs of
the business. Additionally, social media also allows the students to study the business market
across the world and brainstorm them for developing new business ideas. Such innovations and
creativity among the students leads to entrepreneurial intentions among the students that allow
growth of business and economy of the countries (Song 2015).
1.1 Problem statement
In spite of the existing benefits and justifications of analyzing the impact of social media
in influencing entrepreneurial intentions among students, the issues cannot be neglected. Less
and minimal emphasis has been seen on the problems of developing entrepreneurial intentions
for the students that has contributed to the career choice for several students. Additionally,
significant literature gaps has been identified in previous literatures developed based on
entrepreneurship that requires further understanding of the gaps or the issues (Datis 2014).
1.2 Research aim
The aim or purpose of the research is to understand the issue of social media use in
development of entrepreneurial intention among the students.

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1.3 Research objectives
The objectives of the research are:
 To identify the ways in which social media changes self-presentation of the students and
contributes to developing entrepreneurial intentions
 To examine how social media influences entrepreneurial intentions
 To examine the moderating effect of entrepreneurs age on the correlation between social
media and entrepreneurial intentions.
1.4 Research questions
The questions of the research are:
RQ1: How the frequent use of social media does influences entrepreneurial intention?
RQ2: How does entrepreneur’s age influence the relationship between social media and
entrepreneurial intentions?
1.5 Research rationale
Undertaking the research is significant because this will help in analyzing and evaluating
the growth of social media and its growing exposure and demand for the business organizations.
Business sectors are becoming highly saturated and students are showing greater interest in
indulging them in entrepreneurial ideas. Conducting this research will provide an opportunity for
identifying and addressing the issues that arises while using social media platform for the
students while working out their entrepreneurial intentions suitably (Linan, Moriano and Jaen
2016). Additionally, undertaking the research is also significant because this will allow in
evaluating and analyzing the role social has to offer in influencing the entrepreneurial intentions
of the students thereby, making it successful. As the business sector have encountered several

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changes over the years, this research will provide adequate opportunities for examining the
impact of entrepreneurs age by taking into account the relationship between the entrepreneurial
intentions of the students and the social media platform (Nguyen et al. 2015). This research is
undertaken with the aim of comprehending the the use of social media that intends to help the
development of entrepreneurial intentions subsequently. On the other hand, the self-efficacy and
the ability along with the individual confidence of the individual students for performing and
fulfilling tasks.
The rationale behind selecting this research topic is that social media offers both platform
and space for the individual students so that they can indulge them in creativity and making
impression on others suitably. However, it needs to be argued on the use of social media
platform for creating space for self-presentation and creating greater impact on others.
Previously conducted studies have highlighted the positive role of social media in developing
self-efficacy for the students that will be contributing in further knowledge development (Guo
and Bielefeld 2014).
1.6 Structure of the dissertation
The entire is completed through six major chapters that include introduction, literature
review, research methodology, data analysis, findings and interpretations, conclusion an
recommendations. Each of the chapters have significant characteristics that helps in completing a
dissertation successfully.
The first chapter is the introduction chapter that includes the background of the selected
research topic that helps in identifying the problem that is to be investigated in the consecutive

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chapters. Based on the background information and the problem statement, research aim,
objectives and questions are formulated that lays the foundation of the overall research.
The second chapter is the literature review chapter that reviews past and previously
conducted researches conducted in the similar field. This provides an opportunity to compare and
contrast the opinions and views of different authors thereby, ensuring critical evaluation
successfully.
The third chapter is the research methodology chapter that mentions the different existing
methodological tools those can be used while undertaking a research. Each of the tools are
described followed by justifying the selection of the specific ones in accordance with the
research topic. Additionally, this chapter also mentions the significant research ethics and
accessibility issues faced while conducting the current study.
The third chapter is followed by the data analysis, the fourth chapter. In this chapter the
data collected is analyzed by the research tools mentioned and justified in the previous chapter
appropriately.
The fourth chapter is the findings and interpretations chapter where the data analyzed is
interpreted and discussed with relevant information and citations presented in the second chapter
of the dissertation.
The fifth chapter is the conclusion and recommendation chapter where an overall
conclusion is drawn that mentions the identified problem followed by suitable recommendations
for overcoming the identified issues.

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1.7 Summary
Therefore, in this chapter, it can be summarized that suitable and relevant information has
been provided about social media and its increased use over the years over various sectors. This
chapter has been successful in providing adequate background information about the selected
research topic that helped in developing suitable research aim and objectives. Additionally, the
background information provided also allowed formulating the research questions that is to be
investigated in the consecutive chapters. The chapter also highlights the problem statement that
is to be investigated while undertaking the research along with rationalizing the purpose of the
research.

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Chapter 2: Literature review
2.1 Overview
The literature review is developed with the aim of reviewing past literatures and studies
conducted on entrepreneurship and social media. This provides an opportunity to compare and
contrast the views and opinions of different authors in the past and develop a study with enriched
and quality data. Critical analysis of previous studies helps in understanding the issues of using
social media in developing entrepreneurial intentions among the students across the globe. The
literature review is a significant chapter while developing a research because this section
comprises of essential and significant information about that help in developing better and
greater in-sight about the role of social media in facilitating and flourishing entrepreneurship
significantly.
2.2 Emergence of social media
Social media is the applications and websites that provide opportunities to the users for
creating and sharing content and share with the people in the virtual platform. According to
Safiullah et al. (2017), social media are interactive computer mediated technologies that allows
communication over the virtual platform. Social media are interactive web 2.0 internet based
applications that contains user generated contents such as comments, photos and videos. Rapid
change of technology was noticed in the 20th century when super computers were created and
scientists and engineers indulged themselves in creating network between the computers that led
to the birth of internet successfully (Perrin 2015).
Social media gained popularity with the invention of blogging and with the rise of
websites such as MySpace and LinkedIn in the early 2000. Since the establishment of social

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media, it has become an integral part of our lives. It is used for connecting with friends, families,
social causes, business organizations and brands. However, in 2005, the social media penetration
was merely 5% because the concept was hardly known to the world. Internet is said to the main
cause of social media popularity gained across the world and can also be considered as the
beginning of social media (Kim et al, 2015).
Figure 1: Brief history of Social Media
(Source: Moreno et al. 2015)
From the above image, it can be inferred that Six Degrees and Friendster were the two of
the first toe social media websites that played an influential role in starting the social media
revolution but no longer exists. Six Degrees is considered as one of the first social media
websites because this allowed the people to create individual profiles and add others to their
personal network. This was officially launched in 1997 and lasted until 2001. Soon after Six
Degrees, Friendster emerged in 2002 that also facilitated users to make contacts and save them as
a part of their personal network. Friendster can be used by for sharing photos and videos as well
as messages with other users in the contact with the provision of leaving comments on the profile

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of the individuals. However, in 2011, it was rebranded as a gaming community but this did not
help the social media site and it was officially shut down in January 2019 (Perrin 2015).
2.3 Different types of social media platforms
Some of the most used social media websites are Facebook, Instagram, YouTube,
Snapchat, LinkedIn and Twitter. The different social media websites are used widely across the
globe for various purposes and by both individual users as well as business organizations.
Facebook is one of the most preferred social media website among all the social media
websites. Since, the launch of Facebook in 2004, the social media has gained huge recognition
and popularity and is available and accessible throughout the world.
Figure 2: Facebook, Internet and World population
(Source: Perrin 2015)
If the world population is to be considered, 66% of the total world population uses this
social media platform daily with half of the population using it multiple times in a day. Reports
suggest that each user spend approximately 10-12 minutes in Facebook each time they log in.
Additionally, with the rise of smart phones, 88% of the users use it via mobile devices and
tablets making it even more accessible and preferable. 200 million people members of
meaningful Facebook groups that are used for connecting and communicating with the rest of the

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world. Similarly, Facebook among students is highly preferred and used because of the
advantages it offers in terms of communication and engagement.
2.3.1 Instagram
Instagram has been a growing in popularity among the young internet users. It has also
been an effective platform for promoting new and innovative entrepreneurial ventures. The
particular social networking site gives more importance to sharing posts through photos and
videos. Thus, it has been effective in showcasing the innovative business aspects of new
entrepreneurs. Moreover, it is a site that is used by a large number of internet audiences across
the world. Around 1 billion people are monthly users of Instagram. At the same time the social
networking site has 500 million daily users (Gabstats 2019). Around 88% of the social site is
used by people based outside the US. This points to the fact that the company has significant
audience reach. This has also helped the company to get 7 billion dollars in revenue for mobile
advertisements. What makes it more interesting is that 71% of the global Instagram users are
below the age of 35 (Gabstats 2019). This is the age group that is more likely to venture out
towards entrepreneurships.

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Figure 3: Instagram age group statistics
(Source: Gabstats 2019)
2.3.2 YouTube
YouTube is essentially a video sharing online platform. The site has had a long presence
in social media and experiences a huge portion of the global internet traffic. This makes it an
important social media tool that is normally used by people between the ages of 25 to 35 years.
This makes it an important tool to know more about entrepreneurship. Moreover, YouTube has
become an excellent personal broadcasting medium (Manca and Ranieri 2016). Through the
creating of channels, the users can provide their views and opinions or reviews about various
subjects. YouTube has utility among a wide number of global audiences. People interested in
music, history, science, film and television, business, entrepreneurship and a large array of
different subjects effectively use this platform to view, share or upload. YouTube has utility
value for almost all forms of internet audiences. This makes it a strong marketing and

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promotional platform. The educational use of YouTube is witnessing strong development
(Nambisan et al 2018).
2.3.3 Twitter
Twitter is a social networking site that has a significant amount of followers since its
inception. Twitter provides a unique value to the users as they can actually provide their opinions
and promote the same through using the ‘#’ symbol to denote a certain event, concept, news
content or factor that they are posting about. The most important aspect that has emerged
recently concerning the site is the presence of a large number of celebrities. Twitter is used by
film artists, actors, singer, musicians, technology experts, entrepreneurs and a large number of
famous people across the world (Murthy 2018). Their views and posts are followed by a large
number of followers. In regards to entrepreneurship, this creates a significant opportunity for
young aspiring entrepreneurs to know more about entrepreneurship. Twitter has over the years
helped people to stay connected with some of the most important voices on the internet.
2.3.4 LinkedIn
LinkedIn has special significance as a primarily corporate oriented social networking site.
It helps people to create effective corporate profiles that can be easily seen by a large number of
employers and employees. This creates a platform for showcasing ones talent in the corporate
field. Although this platform is widely used by the experienced working people, there is the
presence of lesser experienced young employees. The site is used by freelancers, full-time
employees, interns and part-timers alike. This contributes to the development of a strong network
of employed individuals, organizations, managers and aspiring entrepreneurs (Utz 2016). This is
an important place to gain essential entrepreneurship intent. The large network helps to create a
strong position for aspiring entrepreneurs in the corporate world.

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From the above section, it can be inferred that out of the different social media platforms
mentioned, Facebook is the most preferred one across the globe for various uses such as
personal, professional, social and educational uses.
2.4 Theory of planned behavior and social media usage
The theory of planned behavior is concerned with the attitude towards behaviors, norms
of subjectivity and perceived control of behavior. According to this theory these three aspects
govern the behavioral aspects of any individual (Montano and Kasprzyk 2015). This theory can
be greatly attributed towards the learning of entrepreneurship among the students. According to
Athukorala (2018) students are increasingly using social media for improving their studies and
take part in professional development programs. One of the most important aspects that have
emerged in the recent years is the increasing use of social media among the students for study
purposes. It has been found that students tend to find ways in which they can use social media
for more productive purposes. It is important that the students utilize social media in ways that
can optimally improve their learning.
The main application of the theory of planned behavior can be attributed to the fact that
firstly, the students do have entrepreneurial inclinations concerning their behavioral outlook.
Secondly, the same actually motivate them towards learning more about entrepreneurship online.
They have utilized the potential of social media mostly as an effective medium for
communication and personal entertainment (Kim et al, 2015). However, more recently the factor
that has greatly contributed towards the increased usage of social media among students has been
navigability and community networking. Social networking tool often helps students to interact
with their classmates and the student community that are learning the same course. This helps to
create good relations as well as gain essential knowledge about the subject that is being studied.

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These are the most important emerging factors that are governing the ways in which students
interact in social media (Nambisan et al, 2018). Presently, students focus more on using social
media as a platform in which all of their needs are addressed. Hence, a large number of students
tend to have accounts in multiple social networking sites to improve their usage values. Personal
factors are given more preference to students, as social media has become an increasingly
personal aspect. According to Kim et al. (2015) some of the most important factors influencing
this are expectation of positive social outcomes, self-efficacy and sharing of feelings of
enjoyment.
2.5 Use of social media platforms among students
Developing further upon the theory of planned behavior it can be said that the personal
attributes of the students greatly affect their decisions towards learning about entrepreneurship
online. Social media provides users with the self-efficacy that is required for enhancing their
knowledge potential as per the theory of planned behavior. Hence, even after a long time has
passed since the inception of social media, it has continued to rise in popularity among the
students. The more interesting fact is that students are seen to be giving more importance to
using social media for study purposes. Social media usage has become more common among the
students as they tend to have easier internet access than before. According to a recent study
almost 95% of students have access to mobiles that can be connected with the internet (Zahra
and George 2017). The rise of the android smart phones has provided students with cheaper and
much easily accessible devices for connecting over the internet. It is important to consider that a
large number of students use social media as a place where apart from entertainment; they can
also take part in various other functions. Hence, just like the earlier devices for connectivity,
social media has grown to be a necessity. Another very important factor that has emerged is the

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wide-ranging connectivity that is being provided by social media. It has been found that almost
98% of the college-aged students use social media (Limba and Šidlauskas 2018).
The importance of social media in colleges has grown across the years. It is important to
note here that college or university students that are interested in starting their own businesses in
the long run actually take much inspiration from the social media. It helps them to integrate more
with the course that they undertake (Jayarathna and Fernando 2014). Social media usage has thus
significantly increased among the larger section of the college or university students. Moreover,
many colleges have encouraged the ethical usage of social media in order to ensure better growth
of the students. The fact that a large number of students use social media has given rise to new
ethical dimensions where the productive use of social media tools are given much more
importance. Colleges are giving more preference effective social media oriented teaching and
learning frameworks (Sobaih et al. 2016).
2.6 Role of social media in developing entrepreneurial intentions
Students essentially come across the things that interest them on social media. Social
media fuels the inquisitive nature of the students and information sharing networks are created.
In regards to the development of ideas, social media tends to be a strong and potent force. As
students interact with the various communities and organizations present in social media that
spread knowledge about entrepreneurship, they develop essential notions (Dees 2017). These
notions help to actually establish facts over assumptions. This helps students to be more strongly
inclined towards understanding entrepreneurship. This is very widely observed in SNS like
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Students can get authentic information about entrepreneurship
and all the vital aspects that encompass the same leading to the better understanding of the
concepts. An argument that can be made in this case is the authenticity of the information that is

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being provided through the social media sites. There are some pages or profiles that do provide
misleading information even about business and entrepreneurships (Go and You 2016).
However, an important way to separate the authentic sites from the ones potentially
giving out false information is paying close attention to the number of people that actually
subscribe to these sites. This way it becomes easier for the students to come across content that
are more authentic and effective in determining a clear value of the thing that has been learnt.
Moving forwards this helps the students to get ideas that are not available through other sources.
Increasingly more students are using social media sites to understand more about
entrepreneurship. This is mostly because entrepreneurship is a difficult concept that cannot be
completely learnt from the books, course materials or entrepreneurship development programs.
The innovative nature of entrepreneurship makes it important that entrepreneurship is learnt the
best possible way through learning continuous innovative businesses. Some of the most effective
ways of learning these has been through social media. Social media can be said to be improving
the understanding of entrepreneurship among students (Read et al 2016).
2.7 Social media and entrepreneurship
Learning about entrepreneurship through social media is an important factor. However,
social media has far reaching effects on entrepreneurship development that goes beyond
information gathering. Social media actually helps people to interact more. This contributes to
people analyzing the prospects of entrepreneurship better. It helps to gather and send information
the fastest way possible. Over the past years social network has facilitated the creation of better
businesses (Nambisan, Siegel and Kenney 2018). More effective and efficient business has been
formed through social media. This can be a direct case study for entrepreneurship students. They
can easily understand the value of entrepreneurship as displayed through the social media based

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entrepreneurship. Innovative nature of entrepreneurships necessitate the effective understanding
the nature of businesses (Indarti et al, 2016). In all it can be said that social media and
entrepreneurship is intrinsically connected in the present times. SNS sites create essential
frameworks through which entrepreneurship can be explored, learnt, created and valued.
Social media has been effective towards determining the value of learning
entrepreneurships. It has been a compact platform for understanding the effectiveness of
entrepreneurship and at the same time creates successful entrepreneurships. An important
success stories can be attributed to the growth of independent logistics firms that operate through
the social sites (Lau 2017). Entrepreneurships have been created, managed and successfully built
through inputs generated from social media. Hence, as opined by many, social media is one of
the best possible platforms to learn about entrepreneurships. Networking has been established
effectively as a result of its association with social media. Moreover, SNS have improved the
scope for understanding entrepreneurship manifold. This has given rise to better ways of utilizing
social media for ensuring success of firms (Nambisan, Siegel and Kenney 2018).
2.7.1 Challenges of using social media in for Students
Various issues are faced by students who use social media that tend to affect their studies
and effective development. Social media is filled with content that promote ideas and innovative
approaches to various issues. This is a significant reason why apart from the entertainment
factor, students are also attracted towards social media. Social networking sites (SNS) have also
become important tools of communication between a large numbers of students. According to
Jayarathna et al, (2014) student engagement was found to be negatively related to the usage of
social networking sites such as Facebook. Utilizing Facebook for academic purposes across
various universities was found to be unproductive towards student engagement.

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According to Nawi et al. (2017) however it was found that social media has a mediating
effect on the positive growth of students learning entrepreneurship. The study that was conducted
among 300 students of entrepreneurship found that social media adoption by the students had a
significant effect on their positive development when performance expectancy, perceived trust,
perceived enjoyment and perceived risk are considered as important factors for adoption of
social media (Zhao, Seibert and Hills, 2005). Thus, it can be said that at times the situational
factors become important towards determining how social media can be used by students and the
faculties of academic institutions.
Some of the issues that are more easily identifiable concerning social media usage of
students are distraction, emotional issues and tendency to develop biased opinion or worldviews.
All of these factors are detrimental for the development of students as effective entrepreneurs in
the future. Hayter (2016) studies the role of social network towards creating connections with
important organizations that help in improving entrepreneurship prospects. The challenges in
regards to this include the creation of ineffective contacts that are unproductive for
entrepreneurship growth. Influences of social media can help to create a platform for better
understanding of some concepts relate to entrepreneurship. However, at the same time one of the
major issues that seem to affect social media usage among students is the balance between
leisure and study usage.
Social media usage can divert the attention of students from the actual learning aspects to
other aspects that might not be productive in determining the value of learning. They can even
hamper the effective understanding of certain study concepts due to influences that divert the
attention of the students that use these social media platforms. Self-presentation of the students is
an important factor leading towards the development of entrepreneurial intentions. According to

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Sobaih et al. (2016) certain important barriers can affect the learning of students when using
social media platforms for educational purposes. Some of the most important barriers are
awareness among students of SNS as a learning tool, commitment towards time, security and
privacy issues, ethical concerns and assessment and grading.
Manca and Ranieri (2016) opine that there is an ambivalent attitude that is present among
individuals in regards to both the challenges and the benefits of social media usage. They further
opine that social media can actually be used to motivate the students to perform better. In case of
entrepreneurship students, social media can be said to be a tool through which a large number of
people can be reached and an effective environment can be created for learning entrepreneurship.
It has been found that entrepreneurship intentions are positively affected as a result of social
media usage. Social media serves as a platform where budding entrepreneurs can develop a
certain business plan (Zahra and George 2017).
Moreover, social media helps in the formation of strategies for innovation. However, at
the same time entrepreneurial intentions have been found to be negatively affected by the ways
in which social media have been used. In some cases false entrepreneurship ideas can be
promoted through social media. This has especially become very common in the wake of the
fake news that is being circulated all across social media presently (Nawi et al. 2017).
2.7.2 Benefits of using social media among students
As mentioned previously social media usage has also been beneficial for developing
entrepreneurship intentions among the students. Students come across various ideas of
entrepreneurship on social media platforms. It is important to note that entrepreneurship students
more often engage in learning activities that demand group participation. Messaging apps are

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being utilized for creating effective communication (Karimi et al., 2016). Entrepreneurship
intentions demand innovativeness, connectivity, network creation, business sense and motivated
approaches. These can all be effectively gained through effective and efficient social media
interactions. Social media in the past has been effective in the development of intentions for
entrepreneurship. To a great extent, the role of social media in determining the effectiveness of
the development of entrepreneurial intentions has been motivational. Students usually get
motivated through the entrepreneurship cases that they come across while viewing social media
posts. Thus, social media can be said to be important for the development of self-efficacy that is
much important for entrepreneurial intentions. According to Zhao et al. (2005) self-efficacy has a
mediating role in determining the perception of learning generated from the entrepreneurship
courses, previous entrepreneurial experiences and propensity for risk taking on entrepreneurial
intentions. This is the aspect that is improved effectively through the usage of social media.
Social media can enhance the creativity among budding entrepreneurs or students learning
entrepreneurship. In a way social media provides the much required inspiration to individuals
that are needed to develop entrepreneurial intentions (Zahra and George 2017). Studies have
found that students are mostly very active in social media. This is not only regarding the
entrepreneurship students but also across the various other management related academic
courses.
There has been a rise in the social media usage of students for educational purpose. This
is normally taking place from school level. Hence, by the time students reach college they are
being well versed with social media usage for study purposes. The students are much more
focused towards leaning and knowing more as per the planned behavioural theory. Especially,
the fact that the various social media platforms themselves were the result of the efforts of young

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entrepreneurs is being promoted among the students. Students are getting more motivated as a
result of the same to start their own businesses. It has been argued that the role played by social
media towards guiding the intentions of students with regards to entrepreneurship comes across
some serious challenges (Moreno et al. 2015). However most of these challenges take place
when social media usage is actually not encouraged or effectively guided by the teachers or
professors. Here, it becomes important that the teachers take up effective roles in guiding
students towards gaining entrepreneurship motivation from SNS. Studies have found that the
presence of strong technology frameworks in colleges helps students to develop better
understanding of how social networks can be effectively utilized. Entrepreneurship case studies
are present across social media (Zahra and George 2017). These are easily available through
reputable social media pages and can easily be viewed by the students.
Students find it easier to access, study and share entrepreneurship cases over the social
networking sites. University students are more inclined towards using social networking tools.
Social media usage by university students for academic purpose has been effective in
determining positive results for them. Similarly, it can be said that using social media to learn
more about entrepreneurship can effectively guide their intentions towards becoming new age
entrepreneurs. Moreover, another important aspect is the presence of some budding
entrepreneurs in social media who provide essential informative posts and videos concerning
entrepreneurship. They help to provide essential insights into the prospects of entrepreneurships.
In essence, entrepreneurship contains of many separate but valuable aspects. These can
sometimes only be known through large platforms that social media provides (Read et al. 2016).

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2.7.4 Factors affecting student’s entrepreneurial intentions
There are various factors that have been found to affect the entrepreneurship intentions
among the students. Most importantly the factor of entrepreneurial proximity or the availability
of relational connections can be said to be important motivations. However, there are various
other significant factors that essentially contribute towards the growth of entrepreneurship
intentions of students. According to Shamsudin et al. (2017) it was found that a very important
factor is family background of the students. Positive relations were found to be present between
the family backgrounds of the students and the inclinations towards entrepreneurship. However,
it can be argued that even students with insufficient family support can be well focused towards
entrepreneurships if they can gather significant support. It is important to note that the previous
literatures have considered support to be an important factor that guides the entrepreneurial
intentions of students.
According to Farhangmehr et al, (2016) an important factor that guides the motivated
approaches of students towards entrepreneurship is entrepreneurship competency. However, it is
argued that simply implementing entrepreneurship education programs are not effective in
determining the right entrepreneurial intentions among the students. The stress is on the
development of pedagogies that emphasize on the development of the social and the
psychological skills of the students required for entrepreneurships. Additionally, special
emphasis was provided on developing the aspects of critical thinking and emotional dimensions
of the students. Hence, this puts forward that entrepreneurship motivating factors may be more
than simply the background of the entrepreneurs (Nambisan, Siegel and Kenney 2018). Social
media can play an important part in enhancing the factors that tend to affect entrepreneurship
intentions among the students. This is because social media can help to establish facts that can

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motivate students to think differently. More importantly, establish the fact that even without
strong relational background enterprises can be set up to perform well and effectively. Social
media becomes an important mediating factor in this case as it can provide a large amount of
information about the various business plans and entrepreneurship growth cases that can help
students to motivate themselves to become entrepreneurs (Farhangmehr, Gonçalves and
Sarmento 2016).
According to Indarti et al, (2016) there are several personality factors that affect
entrepreneurship intentions among students. Asian students from more than six countries were
studied and it was found that strong determinants of entrepreneurial intentions were self-efficacy,
environmental factors and demographic factors. Demographic factors like age and gender were
found to be important while determining entrepreneurial intentions. The older students are found
to be lesser inclined towards entrepreneurship. This tends to increase in proportion with the age.
Asian male students were found to be more inclined towards entrepreneurship than the female
students. The arguments point to the fact that further development is required to address the age
and gender gap that is present in terms of entrepreneurship factors. Social media can actually be
used to enhance the motivational aspects that tend to affect the negative entrepreneurship
inclinations of older and female student. (Hayter 2016) Social media as a motivating factor can
be said to be important as being an entrepreneur one needs to create a strong social network. The
online social networking sites can complement this and create an environment where more
people can be inclined towards starting their own ventures. However, this is a significant
research gap that can be identified within the presently available literatures. According to Zollo
et al. (2017) it was found that entrepreneurial intention is affected by entrepreneurial intent and
attitude. However, the same is also greatly affected by the perception of the students about the

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environment of the university or educational institution. The students were found to be positively
influenced towards entrepreneurship when university environment was deemed to be important.
2.7.5 Impact of social media on entrepreneurial intentions
Social media plays an important part in determining the entrepreneurship intentions in the
present world. Social media has become an important tool for corporate interactions. Moreover,
the usage of social media in universities has improved the prospects of its utilization by the
students to learn more about entrepreneurship. Social media has improved the possibilities that
can be created for entrepreneurial ventures. Social media as a tool improves the prospects of self-
efficacy that was found to be very important for the development of entrepreneurial intentions
among the students (Limba and Šidlauskas 2018). Teaching programs that are implemented
across various universities to enhance entrepreneurship intentions are focusing on the effective
usage of social media. The student’s age becomes an important variable in this case as it helps to
determine how effectively the student can utilize social media towards improving his/her
entrepreneurial intentions. The usage of social media among the students were found to be
widespread as it helps to connect with family and friends as well as people with related values,
fields and opinions (Zahra and George 2017).
Students are almost always connected with the social media and it encompasses nearly
most parts of their lives. Since learning is among the most important areas of student
development, it becomes important that students consider using social media towards enhancing
their learning abilities. This is exactly what is being used across the various academic institutions
that are concerned with the establishment of effective strategies to implement entrepreneurship
learning. Using social media has given entrepreneurship learning various essential dimensions
that can be considered for learning the subject in better ways (Read et al. 2016). The literatures

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presently focus on how social media in the last few years have contributed to the growth of
entrepreneurship intent among the youth across the world. It is important to consider that the
young entrepreneurs are now more innovative due to their social media interactions. On the one
hand social media has impacted the growth of entrepreneurial intent and on the other hand it has
also provided a new platform for understanding innovativeness. Social media has been an
important revelation for the students of entrepreneurship. Students across various academic
institutions have used it to better understand the entrepreneurship development programs
(Samuel and Joe 2016). It is important to consider that that the growth and development of social
media has been simultaneous with the growth of new entrepreneurial ventures. Some of these
ventures have been successful through the usage of social media itself. Hence, social media has
had an all-round impact on the development of entrepreneurial intent and innovative
entrepreneurships.
2.8 Research hypotheses
The hypotheses of the research are:
H1: The use of social media will be positively related to entrepreneurial intentions
H2: An individual age will moderate the relationship between the use of social media usage and
entrepreneurial intentions.
2.9 Summary
Thus, in this chapter, it can be summarized that the past years has increased the
facilitation and preference of using the social media platform. The virtual nature of the social
media provides several advantages to the users such as remaining connected with the world and
ensuring effective communication. The advantages offered by social media platform have made

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it highly preferable for both individual users as well as the business organizations suitably.
Social media have huge number of student users, as this allows the students to give shape to their
ideas and intentions in terms of entrepreneurship ideas that revolutionizes the business sector and
the economy of the county considerably.

37DISSERTATION
Chapter 3: Research methodology
3.0 Overview
The main purpose of developing the research methodology chapter is to shed adequate
light on the existing types of tools those can be used while undertaking researches. Developing
this chapter provides an opportunity to develop better understanding and deeper in-sight about
research methodology that is crucial is completing a research or investigation successfully. In
this chapter, each type of methodological tools are mentioned, defined and discussed along with
their significant characteristics that distinguishes one from another. Followed by this, the
selection of the specific tool for the current research is rationalized in accordance with the
selected topic. Additionally, relevant ethics and accessibility issues are also highlighted in this
chapter.
3.1 Research outline
The current research aim towards understanding the issue of social media use in
developing entrepreneurial intentions among students and for this positivism philosophy,
deductive approach, descriptive design and survey research strategy has been appointed. In
accordance with the aforementioned methodological tools, 100 students have been selected as
the sample size using simple random probability technique that intends to achieve the aim of the
current research suitably. Additionally, primary data collection process with quantitative data
analysis technique has been used that helps in converting the responses collected into graphs and
numeric so that it can be used meaningfully in the research. Moreover, regression analysis has
also been used for analyzing the gathered data.

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3.2 Research philosophy
Research philosophy is a vast topic and mainly deals with the development, nature and
source of knowledge. Therefore, it is said that research philosophy indicates the way a data
should be gathered, analyzed and used for a research (Kumar 2019). Positivism, interpretivism
and pragmatism are three types of research philosophies. The significant characteristics of
positivism philosophy indicate highly structured, large samples and measurement using
quantitative method that facilitates statistical and scientific approach. On the other hand, the
characteristics of interpretivism philosophy indicate small samples and measurement using
qualitative method as perspectives of different individuals are considered. Pragmatism
philosophy highlights the dual characteristics of both interpretivism and positivism philosophies
(Mackey and Gass 2015).
3.2.1 Providing the rationale for settling on positivism philosophy
For the current research of understanding the issue of social media use in development of
entrepreneurial intentions among students, positivism philosophy has been settled on. Positivism
philosophy is the most suited one because this enabled to develop a highly structured study
thereby, fulfilling the purpose of the current study successfully (Silverman 2016). On the other
hand, applying positivism philosophy allowed taking large sample size for the current study
thereby, allowing gathering data from large number of students and understanding the issue of
using social media in developing entrepreneurial intentions among them. Additionally, in spite of
the other research philosophies, positivism philosophy has been settled on because this facilitated
making quantifiable observation that is obtained using statistical approach. As a result, facts and
logic about social media can be used in the research that helped in making desired assumptions
(Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015).

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3.3 Research approach
Irrespective of the research area, discussing and selecting the appropriate research
approach is significant. Inductive and deductive are the two approaches those can be used while
conducting any research. The main point of differentiation between inductive and deductive
approaches is the relevance of hypotheses to the study. According to Flick (2015), deductive
approach aim towards testing the validity of the assumptions those are made while conducting
the study. Deductive approach also helps in transforming general information to specific
information by referring to pieces of information those are already in existence. However, on the
contrary, inductive approach aims towards contributing to the emergence of new generalizations
and theories (Bresler and Stake 2017).
3.3.1 Providing the rationale for settling on deductive approach
For the current research of understanding the issue of social media use in development of
entrepreneurial intentions among students, deductive approach has been settled on. Deductive
approach is the most suited one because this enabled testing the hypotheses developed in the first
chapter. Additionally, settling on deductive approach is rationalized because this provides
adequate opportunity of referring to concepts and information about social media and
entrepreneurial intentions among the students (Alvesson and Skoldberg 2017). As a result, it
becomes easy to identify the issues those arise related to social media use that affects the
development of entrepreneurial intentions. On the other hand, general information about social
media and entrepreneurship is transformed to specific information such as social media issues
and its impact on entrepreneurial intentions among the students. As a result, the existing
assumptions about social media uses and issues and its impact on entrepreneurial intentions can
be tested using deductive approach suitably (Ledford and Gast 2018).

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3.4 Research design
Research design is explained and defined differently in different text books. However,
research design is said to be the general plan that helps in finding the right way of answering the
questions of the research. Explanatory, descriptive and exploratory are the three research designs
those are used while working on a research. As the term suggests, exploratory research design is
defined as the design that identifies and explores the existing issue of the research that needs to
be investigated (Bauer 2014). On the other hand, explanatory research design indicates
explaining and finding the reasons those led to the emergence of the issues within the study that
is investigated. However, descriptive design highlights the characteristics of both exploratory
and explanatory research designs thereby, making it highly preferable (Choy 2014).
3.4.1 Providing the rationale for settling on descriptive design
For the current research of understanding the issue of social media use in development of
entrepreneurial intentions among students, descriptive research design has been settled on.
Descriptive research design is the most suited one because this enabled finding the issues that
arises while using social media by the students and the reasons of the emergence of the issues
that affects the entrepreneurial intentions of the students. Additionally, using descriptive design
is also settled on because this helps in explaining the cause and effect relationship between social
media and entrepreneurial intentions. Finding the issues of using social media provides an
opportunity to find out the major issues of using social media and how it affects entrepreneurial
intentions of the students (Jamshed 2014).
3.5 Research strategy
Research strategy is said to be the outline of working out the overall research and
achieving the desired outcomes. Survey, interview, action research and case study are the four

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research strategies those can be used while undertaking a research. Both interview and survey
research strategy is used for collecting data by the researcher for the first time. The only point of
differentiation between the two strategies is that in survey large population size is considered
whereas for interview the sample size is small (Quinlan et al. 2019). As the term indicates, case
study research strategy highlights referring to similar studies and researches conducted in the
past and gather relevant information for developing the current research. Action research strategy
is defined as the vast variety of analytical and investigative research for addressing the problems
followed by developing practical solutions (Fletcher 2017).
3.5.1 Providing the rationale for settling on survey research strategy
For the current research of understanding the issue of social media use in development of
entrepreneurial intentions among students, survey research strategy has been settled on. Survey
research strategy is the most suited one because this enabled the views and opinions of the
participants can be gathered using open-ended questionnaires (Smith 2015). Survey is selected
because this provides opportunity to gather data from large sample size without much effort and
time. Survey is easily administered that makes collecting relevant data from large population
time, cost and effort efficient. For undertaking the survey, relevant open-ended questionnaires
were developed for identifying and understanding the social media issues in developing
entrepreneurial intentions among the students (McCusker and Gunaydin 2015).
3.6 Sampling technique and sample size
Selecting the appropriate sample size is one of the significant aspect of developing a
successful research because the samples are the ones from where the data is collected for the
research. Random probability and non-probability sampling technique are the two sampling
technique those are used for undertaking any research. As the name indicates, random

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probability sampling technique is said to be technique where all the participants of the selected
population have equal chances in sharing their views and opinions. As all the participants have
equal opportunities, the participants are selected randomly and their opinions are taken into
consideration while developing the research (Walliman 2017). On the other hand, non-
probability is absolutely the opposite of probability sampling technique. In this case, the
participants are selected by the researcher personally by judging their suitability in achieving the
aim of the research (Isaacs 2014).
3.6.1 Providing the rationale for settling on probability sampling technique
For the current research of understanding the issue of social media use in development of
entrepreneurial intentions among students, probability sampling technique has been settled on.
Probability sampling technique is the most suited one because this enabled the participants of the
selected population, the students, to share their views and opinions about the social media issues
and its impact on developing entrepreneurial intentions among the students (Reynolds et al.
2014). The students are highly active on social media platforms for varied reasons and are used
by them multiple times in a single day. Therefore, selecting probability sampling technique
allowed equal and random opportunities of the students of being selected. Considering the
student population, 100 students are selected as the sample size using the probability sampling
technique for the current research (Vamsi Krishna Jasti and Kodali 2014).
3.7 Data collection process
The data is considered as the heart and soul of research because this helps in collecting
and presenting relevant and authentic data for developing the overall study. Primary and
secondary are the two data collection processes those are used while undertaking research on any
topic. As the term indicates, primary data collection process is the process of collecting data

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using for the first time by the researcher regarding a specific topic. Primary data collection
process provides opportunity of collecting recent and updated data in relevance with the research
topic that is later supported with existing pieces of information. However, as primary data is
collected for the first time, it is time consuming and requires effort (Mukhopadhyay and Gupta
2014). On the other hand, secondary data collection process is defined as the data collection
process where information is collected from various secondary sources such as books, journals,
articles, online newspapers, official websites and other internet facilities. As information is
collected from already existing sources, secondary data collection process is cost, effort and time
efficient (Riedl, Davis and Hevner 2014).
3.7.1 Providing the rationale for settling on primary data collection process
For the current research of understanding the issue of social media use in development of
entrepreneurial intentions among students, primary data collection process has been settled on.
Primary data collection process is the most suited one because this enabled to collect data
regarding the social media issues and its impact in development of entrepreneurial intentions
among the students for the first time. As social media have gained popularity among the student
recently, primary data collection process is appropriate because this helped in collect recent and
updated data about the research topic (Mackert et al. 2014).
3.8 Data analysis technique
After collecting the data, the collected data needs to be subjected to appropriate data
analysis technique. Qualitative and quantitative are the two data analysis technique those are
used for analyzing the gathered data. As mentioned by Khan (2014), quantitative data analysis
technique focuses on the numbers and the opinions and views of the participants are explained
based on the numbers that is presented using appropriate graphs, tests and numerical. On the

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other hand, qualitative data analysis technique is defined as the analysis technique that aim
towards retaining the quality of the collected data and explaining and interpreting it by
supporting the findings with other references (Hannula, Suoranta and Vaden 2014).
3.8.1 Providing the rationale for settling on quantitative data analysis technique
For the current research of understanding the issue of social media use in development of
entrepreneurial intentions among students, quantitative data analysis technique has been settled
on. Quantitative data analysis technique is the most suited one because this enabled analyzing the
opinion of the students regarding the social media issues and its impact on development of
entrepreneurial intentions among the students by converting the responses into suitable numeric
and graphs thereby, using those meaningfully in the body of the research. The quantitative data is
transformed into pictorial representations and tables for interpreting the data. Additionally,
regression analysis is also conducted for understanding the impact of the social media issues in
developing entrepreneurial intentions among the students (Beckman 2014).
3.9 Ethical considerations
Each research is expected to encounter some ethical considerations, as it is crucial for the
study to up hold specific ethical standards. In accordance with this research, using any kind of
symbols was restricted during the data collection process by using survey research strategy.
Additionally, permission from beforehand needed to be taken from required institutions in order
to prevent breach of law. Moreover, the data collected and the identity of the participants needs
to be kept confidential and not disclosed without the consent of the participants. This help in
ensuring lack of biasness and conflicts among the participants due to varied opinions and views.
The survey questions developed has to be open-ended so that it help in obtaining and ensuring
data accuracy thereby, fulfilling the purpose of the current research (Trainor and Graue 2014).

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On the other hand, forceful participation of the respondents is strictly prohibited
according to the ethics of the research. As a result, the researcher needs ensure that the
participants are taking part in the survey willingly and not forcefully. The information gathered
for the research needs to be used only for academic purposes and not any commercial purposes.
Furthermore, the data should be collected from original sources and needs to be presented in
their authentic form without any data manipulation so that the current study can be used as a
valid and reliable source of secondary information for the future researchers (Mealer and Jones
2014).
3.10 Accessibility issues
In spite of being developing a well designed research, each research has some limitations
and accessibility issues that arise irrespective of any situation. The first accessibility issue that
was encountered while conducting the current research is time constraint. This resulted in limited
scope of gathering data within the allocated time thereby, restricting extensive analysis. On the
other hand, it might be that required and relevant data was not available while conducting the
research that resulted in a significant limitation for the current research thereby, impeding the
research. Moreover, as the research was solely based on quantitative survey, it might not
sufficient for fulfilling the purpose of the study.
3.11 Summary
Thus, in this chapter, it can be summarized that the most suited research methodologies
have been selected for undertaking the current research. The selection of each of methodological
tools have been justified completely that helped in developing better understanding of the type of
methods that needs to be selected while conducting research of similar types in the future. The
selection of positivism philosophy, deductive approach, descriptive design, survey strategy,

46DISSERTATION
probability sampling technique, primary data collection process and quantitative data analysis
technique has been justified for understanding the issue of social media use in development of
entrepreneurial intention among the students.

47DISSERTATION
Chapter 4: Data analysis and interpretations
4.0 Overview
The data analysis is developed with the purpose of analyzing the data collected from 100
students quantitatively in order to have an understanding and better insight about the independent
variable, that is the social media issues faced by the students while using the online platform
thereby, having an impact on the development of dependent variable, that is the entrepreneurial
intentions by considering the moderating variable, that is the entrepreneur’s age among the 100
students. The responses collected from 100 students are analyzed by pie charts and graphs and
simple regression analysis. The regression analysis was conducted so that it is possible to
understand whether social media use have an impact on the development of entrepreneurial
intentions among the students or not.
4.1 Findings and analysis
4.1.1 Descriptive analysis
The descriptive analysis is a significant first step for conducting statistical analyses
because this provides an idea of the distribution of the collected data thereby, enabling to detect
the outliners and identifying the associations among the variables. As a result, the overall data is
prepared for further statistical analyses. For the current study, descriptive analysis is suitable
because this helped in distribution of data in terms of the responses of the 100 students for
knowing the role of social media in developing entrepreneurial intentions.
Demographic analysis

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Figure 4: Demographics
The above presented pie charts comprises of the gender, age, education, years of study
and duration of using social media platforms of the 100 students who took part in the survey.
From the above demographic analysis, it can be seen that out of the 100 students who took part
in the survey, an estimated 51% were male whereas an estimated 48% were female. Therefore, it
can be inferred that both male and female respondents participated in the survey and were
willing to share their views and opinions about the role and issues of using social media in
developing entrepreneurial intentions. The gender of the students reveals that both male and
female students use social media platforms equally in their daily life for several times a day.
In terms of age, the above demographic analysis indicates that out of the 100 students, an
estimated 61% of the students were aged 26-35 years. However, 23% of the students who
participated were also aged 36-45 years followed by 14% students aged 25 years and younger
and only 1% of the students aged 46-55 years. The age group 26-35 years shared their views
regarding the use and issues of using social media in developing intentions because the students
belonging to this age group range are more interested in starting their entrepreneurial career. This
is because this is the age the students finish their education and higher studies and look forward
to do something with their life professionally. Therefore, it can be interpreted that the students
age from 26-35 years signify the age of the entrepreneurs because this is the age the students
finish their studies and look for starting their entrepreneurial career.
From the pie chart, it can be depicted that an estimated 39% of the students who took part
in the survey had qualified bachelor degree followed by an estimated 38% of the student with
master degree and only 22% o the students had a PhD degree. From the age group descriptive
analysis, it can be seen that an estimated 61% of the students were aged 26-35 years and in this

50DISSERTATION
descriptive analysis it is seen that 39% of the students who took part in the survey had qualified
bachelor degree thereby, supporting the results of each other. The age group and the education of
the 100 students support and justify each other thereby, saying that the students are interested in
shaping up their entrepreneurial intentions soon after they have their bachelor’s degree and
master’s degree. Giving direction to the entrepreneurial intentions soon after the completion of
their higher studies is necessary because having successful entrepreneurial career requires
considerable time and effort and starting off soon is beneficial and wise for the students.
In the demographics analysis, the year of study indicates that 31% of the students have
studied for 4 years, 26% of the students have studied for a year, 19% of the students have studied
for 2 years, 11% of the students have studied for 3 years, 9% of the students have studied for 5
years and only 3% of the students have studied for 6 years. The duration of studies for the
students who participated in the survey indicates that the majority of the students have sound
knowledge and education to start and shape up their entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship
is a difficult yet challenging activity of setting up a business and students need to have adequate
knowledge, skills, enthusiasm and qualification for making their entrepreneurial intentions
successful.
Upon asking the duration of using social media, the students who took part in the survey
mentions that almost 87% of the them are using the platforms for more a year. However, some of
the students, 9% and 3% used social media platform for 6 months to a year and less than 6
months respectively. Having used the social media platforms for over an year have provided
adequate knowledge and exposure for the students to understand the role of social media in
developing entrepreneurial intentions along with figuring out the potential challenges those are
encountered.

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Thus, the demographic analysis based on the gender, age, education and years of study
and duration of using social media platforms indicates that the 100 students who took part in the
survey have the desired characteristics for shaping up their entrepreneurial intentions
significantly because they belong to the suitable age group, have qualified degree, have required
years of education and have been using different social media platforms over an year.
Figure 5: Use of social media tools
The above demographic analysis is conducted for understanding the frequency of the
students for suing social media tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and
Twitter. From the data analysis, it can be depicted that an estimated 43% of the students who
took part in the survey have been using the different social media platforms daily and 41% of
them are using it several times a day. On the other hand, 11% of the students use different social
media platforms on a weekly basis and 2% of them use the different social media platforms on a

52DISSERTATION
monthly basis. If the view of the majority of the students is to be considered, then the majority of
the students are seen to use the different social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn,
YouTube and Twitter for several times a day. It can be assumed that the majority of the students
might feel that using the different social media platforms is required and essential to shape up
entrepreneurial intentions due to the exposure that the virtual platform has to offer in terms of
communication and connection irrespective of location and time constraints.
Figure 6: Posting online contents by students
The above pie chart highlights the frequency of posting something online through
different social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.
From the demographic analysis, it can be depicted that 31% of the students posts something in
different online platforms monthly, 29% of the students posts something new in different social
media platforms weekly, 16%, 12% and 11% of the students posts something in different online

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platforms daily, never and several times a day respectively. From the findings, it can be inferred
that the frequency of using the different social media platforms might vary but it is used by the
students for different purposes. The students have taken the help of the online platforms because
of the exposure and the advantages the virtual platform has to offer that can be beneficial for the
students for shaping up their entrepreneurial intentions and have a successful entrepreneurial
career.
From the demographic analysis, it can be seen that the students willing to establish a
successful entrepreneurship is general aged from 26-35 years. Thus, it can be said that the best
entrepreneurial age for the student is from 26-35 years and the theoretical data also supports the
demographic analysis.
4.1.2 Inferential analysis
Regression analysis
Regression analysis is a powerful statistical tool that is used for determining the
relationship between two or more variables based on which the current is conducted. There are
various types of regression analysis but the ultimate goal of the analysis is to investigate the
influence of the one or more independent variable on the dependent variable. The regression
analysis is determined by the results obtained for the p-value. If the result obtained for the p-
value is less than 0.05, then it is null hypothesis is rejected and the alternate hypothesis is
accepted. Therefore, if the p-value is less than 0.05, it is indicated that there is significant impact
of the independent variable on the dependent variable. The p-value is determined by the 95%
confidence level in the regression analysis.

54DISSERTATION
Even colleges and universities have facilitated the use of social media for the students but
ensuring that the social media platforms are used in a productive manner. Colleges are giving
more preference effective social media oriented teaching and learning frameworks. Students
essentially come across the things that interest them on social media. Social media fuels the
inquisitive nature of the students and information sharing networks are created. Social media
tends to be a strong and potent force that facilitates the students to interact with the various
communities and organizations present in social media that spread knowledge about
entrepreneurship that result in the development of essential notions related to entrepreneurship
among the students. Thus, for the students learning about entrepreneurship through social media
is an important factor. Social media actually helps people to interact more thereby, contributing
to people analyzing the prospects of entrepreneurship better. It helps to gather and send
information the fastest way possible. Over the past years social network has facilitated the
creation of better businesses.
The regression analysis obtained is .000 that signifies that social media has been effective
towards determining the value of learning entrepreneurships. Different social media platforms
have been considered as a compact platform by the students that help in understanding the
effectiveness of entrepreneurship and at the same time create successful entrepreneurships. This
is because the social media platforms have the ability to create, manage and built inputs
successfully for developing entrepreneurial intentions successfully. Networking has been
established effectively as a result of its association with social media. Moreover, SNS have
improved the scope for understanding entrepreneurship manifold. This has given rise to better
ways of utilizing social media for ensuring success of firms.
Control Variables Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4

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Gender 0.571 0.518 0.544 0.522
Education 0.278 0.143 0.129 0.114
Year of study 0.102 0.072 0.043 0.037
How long you have been using social media. 0.248 0.419 0.403 0.284
Direct Effects
Your Age 0.403 0.445 -0.592
Social Media Use 0.191 -0.209
Moderator
Your Age * Social Media Use 0.192
Model Fit
F-value 0.006 0.001 0 0
R2 0.141 0.19 0.259 0.283
DR2 0.104 0.147 0.21 0.228
Table 1: Regression analysis
As indicated by the findings of the study, the independent have significant impact on the
dependent variable in the regression analysis. The table reports the results of the regression
analysis of the control variable on the dependent variable. The hypothesis that age of the
entrepreneur’s has significant co-relation between the social media use and developing
entrepreneurial intentions is significant. Thus, the second hypothesis is accepted that entails the
significant impact of the age of the entrepreneur’s in relation with the social media and
developing of entrepreneurial intentions. Model 4 in this table indicates the control variable and
the moderating variable that is the age and social media use and gender, education, year of study
and duration of using social media.
In spite of the significant difference, the students also believe that using social media
platforms imposes significant challenges in developing entrepreneurial intentions effectively.
The significant impact of using social media platforms in developing entrepreneurial intentions

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can be counter argued by mentioning the set of challenges that social media imposes on the
students. Student engagement was found to be negatively related to the usage of social
networking sites such as Facebook. At times the situational factors become important towards
determining how social media can be used by students and the faculties of academic institutions.
Some of the issues that are more easily identifiable concerning social media usage of students are
distraction, emotional issues and tendency to develop biased opinion or worldviews. All of these
factors are detrimental for the development of students as effective entrepreneurs in the future.
In spite of the existing challenges, the role of social media in developing entrepreneurial
intentions successfully cannot be denied. Entrepreneurship intentions demand innovativeness,
connectivity, network creation, business sense and motivated approaches. These can all be
effectively gained through effective and efficient social media interactions. Additionally, social
media can be said to be important for the development of self-efficacy that is much important for
entrepreneurial intentions. From the regression analysis, it can be seen that p-value between self
efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions is .000. As a result, it can be inferred that Self-efficacy
has a mediating role in determining the perception of learning generated from the
entrepreneurship courses, previous entrepreneurial experiences and propensity for risk taking on
entrepreneurial intentions. Students find it easier to access, study and share entrepreneurship
cases over the social networking sites. As social media platforms provide essential informative
posts and videos concerning entrepreneurship for the students, this helps and supports in
developing entrepreneurial intentions among them irrespective of the existing changes.

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Correlations
moderator Cobntrol_vari
able
Social_media
_use
Student_entre
preneurial_int
entions
moderator
Pearson
Correlation 1 .244* .610** .418**
Sig. (2-tailed) .015 .000 .000
N 99 99 99 99
Control_variable
Pearson
Correlation .244* 1 .048 .326**
Sig. (2-tailed) .015 .638 .001
N 99 99 99 99
Social_media_use
Pearson
Correlation .610** .048 1 .250*
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .638 .013
N 99 99 99 99
Student_entrepreneurial
_intentions
Pearson
Correlation .418** .326** .250* 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .001 .013
N 99 99 99 99
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Table 2: Correlation analysis
The co-relation analysis is conducted with the purpose of determining the relationship
among the moderate variable, control variables, independent variables and dependent variables.
The co-relation value ranges from -1 to +1 where two variables are said to have negative
association if the value obtained ranges from -1 to 0 whereas the variables are said to be
positively associated if the values obtained ranges from 0 to +1. Moreover, the variables are said
to be strongly and positively associated if the values obtained are more than 0.7.
The co-relation values obtained are .244, .610 and .412 from moderate, control,
independent and dependent variable respectively. This signifies that age of the students, that is
the moderate variable, is strongly associated with social media use, that is the independent

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variable because the value obtained is .610 and student entrepreneurial intentions that is the
dependent variable because the value obtained is .412.
4.2 Interpretation of the results
The data analysis chapter is followed by the data interpretation chapter that explains and
justifies the data with evidence from the literature review chapter. Referring the information with
previously conducted researches ensures validity and reliability of the current study and helps in
understanding whether using social media develops and facilitates entrepreneurial intentions
among the students. As a result, it is easy to determine the reason what makes social media
highly preferred among students within specific age range and its impact in developing
entrepreneurial intentions. The previous studies are used for supporting the findings of the
current study thereby, achieving the current aim and objectives.
The age of the students plays a significant role in developing entrepreneurial intentions
among the students. Entrepreneurial intentions are more visible among students who have
graduated recently or towards the end of getting a degree. From the data analysis it could be seen
that out of 100 students who took part in the survey an estimated 61% of the students were aged
26-35 years. However, 23% of the students who participated were also aged 36-45 years
followed by 14% students aged 25 years and younger and only 1% of the students aged 46-55
years. As entrepreneurship and starting a business of own is not an easy task and comes with
their own set of challenges, it takes fair amount of time to flourish and shape the entrepreneurial
intentions. This is the probable reason why respondents aged 36-45 years also felt it necessary to
share their views in terms of the issues and use of social media in developing entrepreneurial
intentions successfully. The entrepreneur’s age is a crucial factor that also determines the success
of their intentions. This is supported by Zahra and George (2017) that states that the students

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need to develop entrepreneurial intentions at an early age so that they have the potential,
credibility and resources to work on it and make it successful throughout. Being a successful
entrepreneurship is requires time because it requires long term planning and execution. Hence,
starting at an early age is supported and advised because the individuals would get ample time to
shape and execute their entrepreneurial intentions.
Information presented by Gabstats (2019), Manca and Ranieri (2016), Nambisan et al
(2018), Murthy (2018) and Utz (2016) in the literature review mentions different social media
platforms used by the students are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. The
students’ considerable amount of time each day in one or more than one social media platforms
that allow them to keep them posted and updated with the latest happenings around the world.
This past research supports the correlation value, .0418, that is obtained when the two variables
student entrepreneurial intentions and the age of the students are subjected to correlation
analysis. For example, Facebook among students is highly preferred and used because of the
advantages it offers in terms of communication and engagement. However, this is counter argued
by Jayarathna et al, (2014) and mentions that student engagement was found to be negatively
related to the usage of social networking sites such as Facebook. This is because the students
used to get distracted and Facebook for academic purposes across various universities was found
to be unproductive towards student engagement.
Perrin (2015) in the literature review states that each user spend approximately 10-12
minutes in Facebook each time they log in. 200 million people members of meaningful Facebook
groups that are used for connecting and communicating with the rest of the world. Students use
Facebook for ensuring effective communication and engagement with platforms and individuals
those support entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intentions. Similarly, Instagram has also been

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an effective platform for promoting new and innovative entrepreneurial ventures. According to
the statistics presented by Gabstats (2019) an estimated 71% of the global Instagram users are
below the age of 35 and this is the age group that is more likely to venture out towards
entrepreneurships.
Manca and Ranieri (2016) also mentions that YouTube is the most preferred social media
tool for students of age group 25-35 years and is used by the students for educational use. In this
support Nambisan et al (2018) mentions that the educational use of Youtibe have taken a rise
because the students are to follow and subscribe to the videos and lectures of world’s leading
entrepreneurs. Murthy (2018) mentions that in regards to entrepreneurship, significant
opportunity for young aspiring entrepreneurs is created that helps in knowing more about
entrepreneurship. Twitter has over the years helped people to stay connected with some of the
most important voices on the internet.
Utz (2016) requires special mention because LinkedIn because this social networking
platform allows showcasing ones talent in the corporate field. Although this platform is widely
used by the experienced working people, there is the presence of lesser experienced young
employees. This is an important place to gain essential entrepreneurship intent. The large
network helps to create a strong position for aspiring entrepreneurs in the corporate world.
The image by Perrin (2015) states that among the world population having access to
internet, majority of them use Facebook that is the most used social media platform in the world,
especially the students. The students used the social media platforms for communicating with
family and friends, for building professional relationships, for getting feedback, creating
network, finding people sharing same social interest and getting motivated on the posts shared.

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The students said that they felt incomplete when they are not connected or using the various
social media platforms.
On the negative side, Zhao, Seibert and Hills (2005) and Jayarathna et al, (2014) feels
that extensive use of social media platforms has resulted in negative student engagement. Social
networking sites such as Facebook. Utilizing Facebook for academic purposes across various
universities was found to be unproductive towards student engagement. Additionally, Manca and
Ranieri (2016) present an ambivalent attitude that is present among individuals in regards to both
the challenges and the benefits of social media usage. It is further opined by Zahra and George
(2017) that social media can actually be used to motivate the students to perform better. In case
of entrepreneurship students, social media can be said to be a tool through which a large number
of people can be reached and an effective environment can be created for learning
entrepreneurship. From the data analysis findings and the opinions and views of different authors
presented, it can be inferred that entrepreneurship intentions are positively affected as a result of
social media usage. Social media serves as a platform where budding entrepreneurs can develop
a certain business plan.
The uses of social media platform mentioned in the previous section have made the
virtual platform highly favorable and preferred among the students upon staying connected to the
rest of world. Nambisan, Siegel and Kenney (2018) support this finding by mentioning that
learning about entrepreneurship through social media is an important factor. One of the primary
reasons is that social media platforms actually help people to interact more. People analyzing the
prospects of entrepreneurship better by using social media platforms successfully. Apart from
learning and developing entrepreneurial intentions, more effective and efficient business has
been formed through social media. This is possible because the students can communicate and

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remain connected to rest of the world and the latest trends and ideas circulating in the business
sector without being physically present.
Location and language is not a barrier when it comes to the use of social media platform
by the students thereby, facilitating the development of entrepreneurial intentions. It helps to
gather and send information the fastest way possible. Over the past years social network has
facilitated the creation of better businesses. Indarti et al (2016) also supports the use of social
media in developing entrepreneurial intentions. From the information presented, it can be
depicted that social media and entrepreneurship is intrinsically connected in the present times.
SNS sites create essential frameworks through which entrepreneurship can be explored, learnt,
created and valued.
However, Lau (2017) begs to differ and criticizes by mentioning that social media also
distracts the students for staying focused on their goal of developing and establishment of
entrepreneurship successfully. This negative viewpoint is rejected by Nambisan, Siegel and
Kenney (2018) in the literature review section. The author mentions that networking has been
established effectively as a result of its association with social media. Moreover, SNS have
improved the scope for understanding entrepreneurship manifold. This has given rise to better
ways of utilizing social media for ensuring success of firms.
As known entrepreneurship is the newly facilitated trend among the students because the
students have new ideas those can take the business world by storm. In order to develop the new
business ideas, it is necessary for the students for being connected and updated with the latest
happenings in the business world. In doing so, the different social media platforms are of great
use because the students are able to know the latest happenings around the world without being

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physically present. The different social media platforms provides adequate opportunity for the
students who have completed their studies recently to keep themselves updated and identify new
ideas. Additionally, the students can also follow and take necessary lessons that can help them in
shaping up their entrepreneurial intentions successfully.
Dees (2017) in the literature review mentions the impeccable role of the social media
platforms in developing entrepreneurial intentions among the students. As students interact with
the various communities and organizations present in social media that spread knowledge about
entrepreneurship, they develop essential notions. In the social media platforms the students
essentially come across the things that interest them on social media. Students essentially come
across the things that interest them on social media. Social media fuels the inquisitive nature of
the students and information sharing networks are created. In regards to the development of
ideas, social media tends to be a strong and potent force that helps to actually establish facts over
assumptions. This helps students to be more strongly inclined towards understanding
entrepreneurship. Read et al (2016) also supports the use of social media platforms for the
students because they believe that students to be more strongly inclined towards understanding
entrepreneurship and using different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram provide the students with authentic information about entrepreneurship and all the
vital aspects that encompass the same leading to the better understanding of the concepts.
However, Go and You (2016) have questioned the authenticity of the information that is
provided in the social media platforms thereby, criticizing the information stated by (Read et al
2016). This is because there are some pages or profiles that do provide misleading information
even about business and entrepreneurships. As a result, the students can choose an incorrect path
that hampers the development of entrepreneurial intentions largely. Go and You (2016) have also

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mentioned how to deal with the issue of inauthentic information across various social media
platforms. An important way to separate the authentic sites from the ones potentially giving out
false information is paying close attention to the number of people that actually subscribe to
these sites. As a result, it will be easier for the students to come across content that are more
authentic and effective in determining a clear value of the thing that has been learnt.
Additionally, in the future, the students will also be able to get ideas that are not available
through other sources.
Read et al (2016) mentions the increased use of social media platforms among the
students for developing entrepreneurial intentions. This is most probably because
entrepreneurship is a difficult concept that cannot be completely learnt from the books, course
materials or entrepreneurship development programs. As a result, the innovative nature of
entrepreneurship makes it important that entrepreneurship is learnt the best possible way through
learning continuous innovative businesses. Therefore, one of the most effective ways of learning
these has been through social media. Social media can be said to be improving the understanding
of entrepreneurship among students.
The students who participated in the survey also believe that the different social media
platforms also allow them to develop and ensure self-efficacy successfully. The students believe
that the goals they possess are mostly achievable through the use of social media platforms.
Additionally, the students also believe that when the students face difficulties, the social media
platforms can rescue them by help them find ways of mitigating them and accomplishing the
goals. Moreover, the students assume that they are able to perform difficult tasks, combat with
unexpected challenges and develop new products and identify new market opportunities with the
help of different social media platforms.

65DISSERTATION
The students have developed this believe because they are able to get adequate help from
all over globe for shaping up their entrepreneurial intentions by using social media platforms.
Thus, it can be said that p-value obtained by the regression analysis is justified because social
media has far reaching effects on entrepreneurship development that goes beyond information
gathering. Social media actually helps people to interact more. This contributes to people
analyzing the prospects of entrepreneurship better. For this study, 100 students were surveyed for
knowing whether social media use helps in developing entrepreneurial intentions or not.
The p-value obtained is .000 that is more than 0.05 thereby, indicating that social media
use helps in developing entrepreneurial intentions among the students. This can further be
explained by referring to the theory of planned behavior by (Montano and Kasprzyk 2015). The
theory of planned behavior is concerned with the attitude towards behaviors, norms of
subjectivity and perceived control of behavior. This theory can be greatly attributed towards the
learning of entrepreneurship among the students. The main application of the theory of planned
behavior can be attributed to the fact that firstly, the students do have entrepreneurial inclinations
concerning their behavioral outlook. Secondly, the same actually motivate them towards learning
more about entrepreneurship online.
Athukorala (2018) mentions that students highlight increased use of social media for
improving their studies and take part in professional development programs. One of the most
important aspects that have emerged in the recent years is the increasing use of social media
among the students for study purposes. This is because the students tend to find ways in which
they can use social media for more productive purposes. It is important that the students utilize
social media in ways that can optimally improve their learning. The theory of planned behavior
supports that fact that the students have used the social media platforms to its maximum

66DISSERTATION
potential. The students have used the various social media platforms as an effective medium for
personal as well as learning medium. Thus, the personal attributes of the students largely affects
the decision of the students towards learning about entrepreneurship online. Social media
provides users with the self-efficacy that is required for enhancing their knowledge potential as
per the theory of planned behavior. Therefore, the theory of planned behavior helps in
understanding the use of social media platforms among the students in developing
entrepreneurial intentions.
Majority of the students have access to interest easily than before and stay connected by
using internet and internet driven platforms. The rise of the android smart phones has provided
students with cheaper and much easily accessible devices for connecting over the internet. It is
important to consider that a large number of students use social media as a place where apart
from entertainment; they can also take part in various other functions. As a result, social media
has grown to be a necessity for the students. Students with bachelor and master degree are more
interested in starting their own business and making it large rather than being employed for a
well-known company (Limba and Šidlauskas 2018).
Zahra and George (2017) mention the increased use of social media platforms among the
students. The authors states though inception of social media, it has continued to rise in
popularity among the students. The more interesting fact is that students are seen to be giving
more importance to using social media for study purposes. A recent study also highlights that
approximately 95% of students have access to mobiles that can be connected with the internet
that have increased and facilitated the use of various social media platforms.

67DISSERTATION
However, Jayarathna et al, (2014) does not support the benefits that social media
platform has to offer for the students and criticizes the role of social media in developing
entrepreneurial intentions among the students. This is because the students’ engagement was
found to be negatively related to the usage of social networking sites such as Facebook. Utilizing
Facebook for academic purposes across various universities was found to be unproductive
towards student engagement. Additionally, other negatives of using social media platforms
among the students are distraction, emotional issues and tendency to develop biased opinion or
worldviews. All of these factors are detrimental for the development of students as effective
entrepreneurs in the future.
As known from the evidence of the past research presented in the previous chapter that
students are able to access high speed internet and social media platforms due to the rise of smart
phones at affordable rates. This justifies the strong correlation value between the age of the
students and the use of social media by them, that is, .610. It has been found that almost 98% of
the college-aged students use social media because of the wide-ranging connectivity that is being
provided by social media and the students can also take part in various other functions.
Jayarathna and Fernando (2014) also support the opinion presented by Limba and Šidlauskas
(2018) by mentioning that social media usage has thus significantly increased among the larger
section of the college or university students. This is because the college and university students
show greater interest and enthusiasm in starting their own businesses in the long run rather than
working under an eminent company or being employed.
Understanding the view of the students, many colleges have encouraged the ethical usage
of social media in order to ensure better growth of the students. The fact that a large number of
students use social media has given rise to new ethical dimensions where the productive use of

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social media tools are given much more importance. According to Sobaih et al. (2016) colleges
are giving more preference effective social media oriented teaching and learning frameworks.
Hayter (2016) also mentions that influences of social media can help to create a platform for
better understanding of some concepts relate to entrepreneurship. The platform helps in forming
strategies that facilitates innovations.
However, Nawi et al. (2017) have argued with the above opinion and said that lack of
awareness among the students as a learning tool, commitment towards time, security and privacy
issues, ethical concerns and assessment and grading questions the credibility of the use of social
media platforms in developing entrepreneurial intentions. Hence, it can be said that though social
media also results in distractions for the students, it help the students to gain adequate knowledge
and exposure for shaping their entrepreneurial intentions.
The findings from the data analysis and the information from previous literatures
supports that social media have positive influence on developing entrepreneurial intentions and
the age of the students will influence the relationship between the social media usage and
entrepreneurial intentions.
4.3 Summary
Thus, in this chapter, it can be summarized that all the 100 students who took part in the
survey feels that the social media platforms are of great use for fulfilling and giving a direction
to their entrepreneurial intentions in today’s world. Both male and female students took part in
the survey and shared their views and opinions regarding the use of social media platforms and
issues that occur in developing entrepreneurial intentions. From the descriptive analysis, it can
depicted that the students of all age groups but mainly 26-35 years with educational qualification

69DISSERTATION
of bachelor, master and PhD and varied duration of study and using social media for more than a
year are using the different social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and
LinkedIn for developing their entrepreneurial intentions successfully.
Apart from the descriptive analysis, the regression analysis also indicates that social
media has an impact on developing entrepreneurial intentions successfully. This can be said as
the p-value obtained is .000 for the regression analysis. As the p-value obtained is less than 0.05,
it can be implied that social media usage has a significant impact and difference in developing
entrepreneurial intentions among the students. The students are well aware of the benefits of the
social media platforms and know that it can be used for venturing into new business ideas. Social
media have no constraints in terms of communication and facilitate the users are able to stay
connected, updated and informative about the latest changes in the business sector just a click
away. As a result, the students are able to grill their mind and entrepreneurial intentions thereby,
giving them a direction. Using the social media platforms make the students self efficient that is
highly preferred for being successful entrepreneurs. Hence, the value obtained in the regression
analysis supports the research aim thereby, mentioning that social media use is effective in
developing entrepreneurial intentions among the students.
Hence, it can be summarized that majority of the students are aiming towards making
entrepreneurial ventures rather than going for a secured job and getting settled. The students
within specific age group is looking for untapped and unexplored business opportunities and
making an effort to turn into a successful business opportunity. With the advancement of
technology and social media over the past years, even universities and colleges are favoring and
allowing the use of social media for the students because it is giving wide exposure irrespective

70DISSERTATION
of time and location. As a result, the students are developing more confidence that is in turn
influencing and boosting their entrepreneurial intentions.

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Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations
5.0 Conclusion
Thus, it can be summarized that social media usage has increased significantly and have
users from varied age groups. With the advancement of technology, the social media use has also
increased over the years. Using social media platform provides opportunities for the users to
communicate and connect with ideas and people around the world with being physically present
and also free of cost. The users can follow people, groups or communities of their choice
irrespective of the geographical location and time and acquire relevant knowledge and
information. The vastness of the virtual platform is what that has made social media platform
highly recognized and popular globally.
The different social media platforms used majorly by the students are Facebook,
YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Instagram, Snapchat and LinkedIn. Among all, Facebook and
Twitter is used mostly by the students for developing their entrepreneurial intentions. The
information presented in the literature review chapter, it can be inferred that the features offered
by Facebook is easy to access that have made it highly preferable among the students. The theory
of planned behavior also describes the relationship between the development of entrepreneurial
intentions among the students. According to the theory, the students do have entrepreneurial
inclinations concerning their behavioral outlook and the same actually motivate them towards
learning more about entrepreneurship online.
The past years have seen an increased craze of using social media platforms among the
students for educational purposes. It has been found that students tend to find ways in which they

72DISSERTATION
can use social media for more productive purposes. It is important that the students utilize social
media in ways that can optimally improve their learning.
It can also be concluded in this chapter that the personal attributes of the students greatly
affect their decisions towards learning about entrepreneurship online. It is estimated that almost
95% of students have access to mobiles that can be connected with the internet and almost 98%
of the college-aged students use social media. This theoretical information is supported by the
data gathered from the data analysis that states that out 100 students who took part in the survey,
61% of them belonged to the age group 26-35 years followed by 23% of the students belonged to
the age group 36-45 years. Hence, it can be said that the age of the students play an important
role in development of entrepreneurial intentions among the students.
The previously conducted researches and the data analysis of the current research indicate
a positive influence of social media in respect to entrepreneurial intentions. The potential
benefits of using social media platforms for developing entrepreneurial intentions are inevitable
and cannot be denied. The students are benefitted in terms of effective communication because
of the messaging app features provided in different social media platforms. As entrepreneurial
intentions require connectivity, innovativeness, network creation, business sense and motivated
approaches, social media is the most appropriate platform that offers all the features without any
potential constraints. Students usually get motivated through the entrepreneurship cases that they
come across while viewing social media posts. Thus, social media can be said to be important for
the development of self-efficacy that is much important for entrepreneurial intentions. In spite of
the benefits, the challenges that accompanies the use of social media platforms for developing
entrepreneurial intentions cannot be denied and needs attention and to be worked on. However,

73DISSERTATION
the effective role of social media towards determining the value of learning entrepreneurships is
evident.
5.1 Linking with objectives
Objective 1: To identify the ways in which social media changes self-presentation of the
students and contributes to developing entrepreneurial intentions
Objective 1 is linked with literature review sections 2.5 and 2.7.2. These two sections talk
about the different social media platforms those are used by the students daily for developing and
executing entrepreneurial intentions successfully. The two sections highlight the benefits the
students have because of using social medial platforms in this competitive age. On the other
hand, the entire survey questionnaire has been developed with the purpose of investigating the
role social media platform has to play in developing entrepreneurial intentions among the
students. As a result, the benefit of using social media for the students can be determined by
analyzing the self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions for the students.
Objective 2: To examine how social media influences entrepreneurial intentions
Objective 2 is linked with literature review section 2.7.5. This section describes and
critically analyzes the role social media has to offer for influencing entrepreneurial intentions.
This can be done by shedding light on the benefits the social media platforms provides to the
students in terms of exposure and knowledge because of the vastness the virtual platform has to
offer. On the other hand, section II and section IV in the survey questionnaire has been
developed with the aim of understanding the principal reason for the students to use social media
platforms and to determine to the extent it supports the purpose of developing entrepreneurial

74DISSERTATION
intentions among them. Hence, it can be understood whether social media has an impact on
developing entrepreneurial intentions or not.
Objective 3: To examine the moderating effect of entrepreneur’s age on the correlation
between social media and entrepreneurial intentions
Objective 3 is linked with literature review section 2.7.4. This section talks about the
various factors that affect the development of entrepreneurial intentions among the students.
From the information provided, it can be known that age of the entrepreneur’s age is one of the
factors that have a significant role to play between social media and entrepreneurial intentions.
On the other hand, the survey questions developed in section I and IV aim towards understanding
the role of age of the entrepreneur’s in developing entrepreneurial intentions successfully. From
the age range of the students provided in the questionnaire, it can be proposed the specific age
group of the students those use social media platforms for developing entrepreneurial intentions.
5.2 Recommendations
Based on the identified issues of using social media, the suitable recommendations are
suggested.
Monitoring the use of social media use among students
The students often get distracted while using social media platforms and diverge from the
ultimate goal of gaining knowledge and exposure for developing and shaping up their
entrepreneurial intentions. For this, it is advisable that the parents and the colleges and
universities need to keep an eye and monitor the students while they use social media platforms.
This will provide opportunity for the ones keeping an eye bring the students back on track and
guide them to concentrate in gaining adequate exposure and knowledge for developing their

75DISSERTATION
entrepreneurial intentions. If the students are continuously made to remember the reason they are
provided with free usage of social media platforms, the students will make the maximum use of
it without being distracted. As a result, they will be successful in identifying and exploring the
untapped business opportunities and understand facets of successful entrepreneurship thereby,
working on it suitably.
Guiding the students regarding the authenticity of the social media contents
The information available over the social media platforms are questioned for their
authenticity. This is because not all information available is original and is shared for misleading
the users. Taking into account the age group of the students those are using the various social
media platforms for developing entrepreneurial intentions, the ability to distinguish between
authentic and fake information is minimal. Hence, it is necessary for the students to be guided
appropriately regarding the information and content they come across while using social media
for gathering knowledge and exposure for developing entrepreneurial intentions. This control
and guidance is necessary because this will prevent the students to go in the wrong direction and
follow a path that actually does not lead to successful entrepreneurship.
5.3 Future scope of the study
From the data analysis, it can be seen that the ongoing research focuses on the students
mainly aged 26-35 years followed by students aged 36-45 years and their entrepreneurial
intentions are determined by determining the use of social media. Hence, in the future research
can be conducted by focusing on how the students use the different social media platforms in
ensuring successful entrepreneurship. The ongoing research does not consider the strategies or
techniques the students use for developing their entrepreneurial intentions. Thus, the future

76DISSERTATION
research can be developed for investigating the feasibility and practicality of using social media
platforms in shaping up the entrepreneurial intentions for the students.
Additionally, in the future research can be conducted by focusing on the challenges those
occurs while using social media platforms for the students that affects successful entrepreneurial
intentions for the students. In the future, research can also be conducted on improvisational
behavior those will have variables such as tolerance that is not considered in the current study.
Moreover, in the future research can be conducted by using qualitative data analysis technique,
as this will help in communicating with the students personally for understanding how they use
the social media platforms for developing entrepreneurial intentions.

77DISSERTATION
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Appendix 1
Survey questionnaire
SURVEY ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS AMONG
STUDENTS
I am an MSc student at the University of Bradford currently doing my dissertation on social
media and entrepreneurial intentions. I have a keen interest in understanding how social media
develops entrepreneurial intentions among students. The purpose of this study is to access your
intentions to become an entrepreneur. This study is strictly for academic purposes. Please do take
care to answer the questions as fully and accurately as you can and remember that there are no
right answers to the questions asked. This survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.
As we do not ask you for your name, you are guaranteed complete confidentiality and
anonymity. Only general findings from the study will be reported. The chair of Faculty of
Management and Law research ethics panel at the University of Bradford has confirmed ethics
approval.
Once again, thank you very much for your participation in this research. You may respond in
complete frankness; all your answers will remain confidential.
SECTION 1: DEMOGRAPHICS

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Please answer the following questions by ticking (√) the appropriate boxes or write down
your responses were necessary.
1. Your
gender:
Femal
e
Mal
e
2. Your age: 25 or
younger 26 – 35 36 – 45 46-55 Over
56
3. Your
education: Bachelors Master
s PHD
5.
Year of study (pls specify) Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Year 5 Year 6
SECTION II: SOCIAL MEDIA (scale)
Please answer the following questions by ticking (√) the appropriate boxes or write down your
responses were necessary.
1
.
How often do you use the
following social media
tools (Facebook, Linkedin,
Youtube, Instagram,
Twitter)?
Neve
r
Dail
y
Severa
l times
a day
Weekl
y
Monthl
y
2
.
How often do you post
something online through
the following social media
tools (Facebook, Linkedin,
Youtube, Instagram,
Twitter)?
Neve
r
Dail
y
Severa
l times
a day
Weekl
y
Monthl
y

88DISSERTATION
Please indicate your level of agreement with the following sentences
To what extent do you agree with the following
items describing using social media tools?
Please circle the number that best represents
your opinion.
I strongly
disagree
I neither
agree
nor
disagree
I strongly
agree
1. I use social media to search for information 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. I use social media for communicating with
family and friends
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. I use social media for forming professional
relationship with the business environment
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. I use social media for getting feedback 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. Posting videos, and photos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. I care about what the people in my social
network think of me
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. I feel more confident when I find out the
people in my social network share my
interests and ideas
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. If I get a positive feedback on a personal
post, I feel good
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. The lack of social media presence makes me
feel incomplete
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

89DISSERTATION
SECTION III: SELF-EFFICACY (scale)
Please indicate your level of agreement with the following sentences
To what extent do you agree with the
following items describing your self-efficacy?
Please circle the number that best represents
your opinion.
I strongly
disagree
I neither
agree
nor
disagree
I strongly
agree
1. I will be able to achieve most of the goals
that I have set for myself.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. When facing difficult tasks, I am certain that
I will accomplish them
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. I am confident that I can perform effectively
on many different tasks
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. I am able to cope with unexpected
challenges
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. It is easy for me to develop new product and
market opportunity
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SECTION IV: ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS (Intentions to start a business)
Please indicate your level of agreement with the following sentences
To what extent do you agree with the
following items describing your business
intentions? Please circle the number that best
represents your opinion.
I strongly
disagree
I neither
agree
nor
disagree
I strongly
agree
1. I am ready to do anything to become self-
employed.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. My professional goal is to become an
entrepreneur
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. I will make every effort to start and run my
own firm
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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4. I am determined to create a firm in the future 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. I have the firm intention to start a firm some
day
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. I will find social media useful in my
entrepreneurial activities
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. Being self-employed implies more
advantages than disadvantages to me
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. The idea of being self-employed is attractive
for me
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. If I had the opportunity and resources, I’d
like to start a firm
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. Being self-employed would entail great
satisfactions for me
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. Among various options, I would rather be an
entrepreneur
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12. If I decide to become self-employed, would
your close family approve of that decision?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
13. If I decide to become self-employed, would
your close friends approve of that decision?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14. I am prepared to become self-employed. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
15. To start a firm and keep it working would be
easy for me
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
16. I can control the creation process of a new
firm.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
17. I know the necessary practical details to start
a firm
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
18. I know how to develop an entrepreneurial
project
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
19. If I tried to start a firm, I would have a high
probability of succeeding.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
This ends the questionnaire. Thank you very much for your time and participation

91DISSERTATION
NB
1. UNDER SECTION 1V FROM QUESTION 1-6 IS ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION SCALE
2. UNDER SECTION IV, FROM QUESTIONS 7-11 IS BEHAVIORAL BELIEF SCALE
3. UNDER SECTION IV, FROM QUESTIONS 12-13 IS THE NORMATIVE BELIEF SCALE
4. UNDER SECTION 1V, FROM QUESTIONS 14-19 IS THE CONTROL BELIEF SCALE