Barriers before Students` Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives – Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish Students
This article outlines the most important barriers for Bulgarian and Polish students that abandon or significantly reduce the execution of their entrepreneurial intentions and the start of new businesses. There are significant and diverse barriers in the implementation of entrepreneurial activities,...
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Hristova, V. Wołejsza, Р. 2021-04-26T18:58:13Z 2021-04-26T18:58:13Z 2020 Barriers before Students` Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives – Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish Students / V. Hristova, P. Wołejsza // Економічний вісник Донбасу. — 2020. — № 4 (62). — С. 124-131. — Бібліогр.: 12 назв. — англ. 1817-3772 DOI: 10.12958/1817-3772-2020-4(62)-124-131 https://nasplib.isofts.kiev.ua/handle/123456789/179329 334+330.33+37(497.2+438) This article outlines the most important barriers for Bulgarian and Polish students that abandon or significantly reduce the execution of their entrepreneurial intentions and the start of new businesses. There are significant and diverse barriers in the implementation of entrepreneurial activities, but it is especially important that they are outlined for young people with a desire and intentions for entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial activities developed by young educated people are very important for the initiating and identifying changes in the economy’s and society’s structures. An increasingly important place in this process is taken by higher education institutions, which with their adequate training can "turn" intentions into real entrepreneurial activities or completely lock people with great potential for entrepreneurship. The aim of this article is to highlight some key barriers preventing students to develop their business intentions and initiatives. They are based on a survey conducted in Bulgaria and Poland among students studying entrepreneurial subjects at the “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo and Maritime University of Szczecin, Poland. On this basis, some conclusions are outlined and recommendations are made to universities in terms of strengthening their role as external motivators for launching various entrepreneurial projects by their students. У статті представлено найбільш важливі перешкоди для болгарських та польських студентів, через які вони відмовляються від своїх підприємницьких намірів або значно скорочують їх реалізацію та відкриття нового бізнесу. Існують значні і різноманітні перешкоди на шляху здійснення підприємницької діяльності, але особливо важливо, щоб вони були позначені для молодих людей з бажанням і намірами до підприємництва. Підприємницька діяльність, що розвивається молодими освіченими людьми, дуже важлива для ініціювання та виявлення змін в структурах економіки і суспільства. Все більш важливе місце в цьому процесі займають вищі навчальні заклади, які при відповідній підготовці можуть «перетворити» наміри в реальну підприємницьку діяльність або повністю заблокувати людей з великим підприємницьким потенціалом. Мета цієї статті – виділити деякі ключові перешкоди, що заважають студентам розвивати свої ділові наміри й ініціативи. Вони засновані на опитуванні, проведеному в Болгарії і Польщі серед студентів, які вивчають підприємницькі дисципліни в університеті «Св. Кирила і Св. Мефодія» у Велико Тирново (Болгарія) і Морському університеті Щецина (Польща). На підставі цього робляться деякі висновки і даються рекомендації університетам з точки зору посилення їх ролі як зовнішніх мотиваторів для запуску студентами різних підприємницьких проєктів. В статье описаны наиболее важные препятствия для болгарских и польских студентов, которые отказываются от своих предпринимательских намерений или значительно сокращают их реализацию и открытие нового бизнеса. Существуют значительные и разнообразные препятствия на пути осуществления предпринимательской деятельности, но особенно важно, чтобы они были обозначены для молодых людей с желанием и намерениями к предпринимательству. Предпринимательская деятельность, развиваемая молодыми образованными людьми, очень важна для инициирования и выявления изменений в структурах экономики и общества. Всё более важное место в этом процессе занимают высшие учебные заведения, которые при соответствующей подготовке могут «превратить» намерения в реальную предпринимательскую деятельность или полностью заблокировать людей с большим предпринимательским потенциалом. Цель этой статьи – выделить некоторые ключевые препятствия, мешающие студентам развивать свои деловые намерения и инициативы. Они основаны на опросе, проведенном в Болгарии и Польше среди студентов, изучающих предпринимательские дисциплины в университете «Св. Кирилла и Св. Мефодия» Велико Тырново (Болгария) и Морском университете Щецина (Польша). На основании этого делаются некоторые выводы и даются рекомендации университетам с точки зрения усиления их роли как внешних мотиваторов для запуска студентами различных предпринимательских проектов. en Інститут економіки промисловості НАН України Економічний вісник Донбасу Management Barriers before Students` Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives – Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish Students Бар'єри перед підприємницькими намірами і бізнес-ініціативами студентів – результати емпіричного дослідження серед болгарських та польських студентів Барьеры перед предпринимательскими намерениями и бизнес-инициативами студентов – результаты эмпирического исследования среди болгарских и польских студентов Article published earlier |
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Digital Library of Periodicals of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine |
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Barriers before Students` Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives – Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish Students |
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Barriers before Students` Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives – Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish Students Hristova, V. Wołejsza, Р. Management |
| title_short |
Barriers before Students` Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives – Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish Students |
| title_full |
Barriers before Students` Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives – Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish Students |
| title_fullStr |
Barriers before Students` Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives – Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish Students |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Barriers before Students` Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives – Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish Students |
| title_sort |
barriers before students` entrepreneurial intentions and business initiatives – results by empirical study of bulgarian and polish students |
| author |
Hristova, V. Wołejsza, Р. |
| author_facet |
Hristova, V. Wołejsza, Р. |
| topic |
Management |
| topic_facet |
Management |
| publishDate |
2020 |
| language |
English |
| container_title |
Економічний вісник Донбасу |
| publisher |
Інститут економіки промисловості НАН України |
| format |
Article |
| title_alt |
Бар'єри перед підприємницькими намірами і бізнес-ініціативами студентів – результати емпіричного дослідження серед болгарських та польських студентів Барьеры перед предпринимательскими намерениями и бизнес-инициативами студентов – результаты эмпирического исследования среди болгарских и польских студентов |
| description |
This article outlines the most important barriers for Bulgarian and Polish students that abandon or significantly reduce the execution of their entrepreneurial intentions and the start of new businesses. There are significant and diverse barriers in the implementation of entrepreneurial activities, but it is especially important that they are outlined for young people with a desire and intentions for entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial activities developed by young educated people are very important for the initiating and identifying changes in the economy’s and society’s structures. An increasingly important place in this process is taken by higher education institutions, which with their adequate training can "turn" intentions into real entrepreneurial activities or completely lock people with great potential for entrepreneurship. The aim of this article is to highlight some key barriers preventing students to develop their business intentions and initiatives. They are based on a survey conducted in Bulgaria and Poland among students studying entrepreneurial subjects at the “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo and Maritime University of Szczecin, Poland. On this basis, some conclusions are outlined and recommendations are made to universities in terms of strengthening their role as external motivators for launching various entrepreneurial projects by their students.
У статті представлено найбільш важливі перешкоди для болгарських та польських студентів, через які вони відмовляються від своїх підприємницьких намірів або значно скорочують їх реалізацію та відкриття нового бізнесу. Існують значні і різноманітні перешкоди на шляху здійснення підприємницької діяльності, але особливо важливо, щоб вони були позначені для молодих людей з бажанням і намірами до підприємництва. Підприємницька діяльність, що розвивається молодими освіченими людьми, дуже важлива для ініціювання та виявлення змін в структурах економіки і суспільства. Все більш важливе місце в цьому процесі займають вищі навчальні заклади, які при відповідній підготовці можуть «перетворити» наміри в реальну підприємницьку діяльність або повністю заблокувати людей з великим підприємницьким потенціалом. Мета цієї статті – виділити деякі ключові перешкоди, що заважають студентам розвивати свої ділові наміри й ініціативи. Вони засновані на опитуванні, проведеному в Болгарії і Польщі серед студентів, які вивчають підприємницькі дисципліни в університеті «Св. Кирила і Св. Мефодія» у Велико Тирново (Болгарія) і Морському університеті Щецина (Польща). На підставі цього робляться деякі висновки і даються рекомендації університетам з точки зору посилення їх ролі як зовнішніх мотиваторів для запуску студентами різних підприємницьких проєктів.
В статье описаны наиболее важные препятствия для болгарских и польских студентов, которые отказываются от своих предпринимательских намерений или значительно сокращают их реализацию и открытие нового бизнеса. Существуют значительные и разнообразные препятствия на пути осуществления предпринимательской деятельности, но особенно важно, чтобы они были обозначены для молодых людей с желанием и намерениями к предпринимательству. Предпринимательская деятельность, развиваемая молодыми образованными людьми, очень важна для инициирования и выявления изменений в структурах экономики и общества. Всё более важное место в этом процессе занимают высшие учебные заведения, которые при соответствующей подготовке могут «превратить» намерения в реальную предпринимательскую деятельность или полностью заблокировать людей с большим предпринимательским потенциалом. Цель этой статьи – выделить некоторые ключевые препятствия, мешающие студентам развивать свои деловые намерения и инициативы. Они основаны на опросе, проведенном в Болгарии и Польше среди студентов, изучающих предпринимательские дисциплины в университете «Св. Кирилла и Св. Мефодия» Велико Тырново (Болгария) и Морском университете Щецина (Польша). На основании этого делаются некоторые выводы и даются рекомендации университетам с точки зрения усиления их роли как внешних мотиваторов для запуска студентами различных предпринимательских проектов.
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1817-3772 |
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https://nasplib.isofts.kiev.ua/handle/123456789/179329 |
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Barriers before Students` Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives – Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish Students / V. Hristova, P. Wołejsza // Економічний вісник Донбасу. — 2020. — № 4 (62). — С. 124-131. — Бібліогр.: 12 назв. — англ. |
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V. Hristova, P. Wołejsza
124
Економічний вісник Донбасу № 4(62), 2020
UDC 334+330.33+37(497.2+438) doi: 10.12958/1817-3772-2020-4(62)-124-131
V. Hristova,
PhD, Associated Professor,
ORCID 0000-0002-2511-2987,
e-mail: vhristova@ts.uni-vt.bg,
“St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University
of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria,
P. Wołejsza,
PhD, Assistant Professor,
ORCID 0000-0003-4284-5223,
e-mail: piotr@am.szczecin.pl,
Maritime University of Szczecin, Poland
BARRIERS BEFORE STUDENTS` ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTIONS
AND BUSINESS INITIATIVES – RESULTS BY EMPIRICAL STUDY
OF BULGARIAN AND POLISH STUDENTS
Introduction1
One of the main innate aspirations of people is to
win, to succeed. Entrepreneurs are often seen as models
for such success. A factor that undoubtedly helps young
people to decide on an entrepreneurial path is an exam-
ple. Success and “fail” stories of local and foreign entre-
preneurs together with necessary knowledge2 create a
solid basement of the business. Anyway, the implemen-
tation of entrepreneurial activity is associated with risk-
taking, which is an immanent characteristic regardless
of business specific form. The risks that accompany en-
trepreneurship exist in each of the entrepreneurial pro-
cess stages – they are significant in starting own busi-
ness, but are not less in the next stages of development
of entrepreneurial initiative. In contemporary context,
entrepreneurial risk relates to the danger of material and
financial losses, failures, lack of planned revenues in a
changing economic environment. It is the result of un-
certainty. The gradual accumulation of knowledge, in-
cluding in the field of entrepreneurship, reveals to young
people both new horizons for action and projects, and
alerts about possible difficulties, dangers, losses and
problem areas.
This article outlines the most important barriers for
students that abandon or significantly reduce the execu-
tion of their entrepreneurial intentions and the start of
new businesses. The barriers are based on data from a
study conducted in early 2020. The target group was stu-
dents, who attend Entrepreneurship classes at universi-
ties. Two universities were selected i.e. the “St. Cyril
and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo, Bul-
garia and the Maritime University of Szczecin, Poland.
1 The authors’ participation in the article is as follows: Veneta Hristova – I, II.1, II.2, II.3 and II.5; Piotr Wołejsza –
Introduction, II.4 and conclusion.
2 Pavlov, D., Sheresheva, M., Perello, M. (2017). The Intergenerational Small Family Enterprises as Strategic Entities for
the Future of the European Civilization – A Point of View. Journal of Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Issue 9, p. 124.
3 Deneva, A. (2001). The small business – organization and problems. Economic world Library, 51, pp. 35-36. Svishtov,
Tsenov Publishing house [in Bulgarian].
4 See: 10 Reasons Why Entrepreneur Fail Their Business. HarvardEntrepreneurships. URL: https://www.harvard entre-
preneurship.org/246/10-reasons-why-entrepreneur-fail-their-business.html (posted on July 2, 2020).
The selection was strictly connected with the authors’
place of employment. Three different groups on each
university were selected: two from the bachelor level
(1st semester and 4th semester) and one from the Master
level. In mentioned semesters, the students have Entre-
preneurship classes. The groups from the first semester
were the most numerous i.e. 30 persons, while the
groups from higher semesters have consisted of 15 peo-
ple. All together 120 students were questioned. There
were outlined the following research questions: how the
nationality, year and field of study have connection with
the barriers before students to start their own business
initiative?
I. Barriers before starting business initiatives
(by students) – some theoretical and practical aspects
In the studies and developments of theorists and
practitioners much more often can be found data on
what has led to the success (“success stories”) of an
entrepreneurial activity3. But it is an indisputable fact
that every year at least a half of the newly formed com-
panies close their activities. The probable reasons for
this are diverse as some of them are related to the per-
sonality of the entrepreneur: they are both personal and
related to his managerial skills. There are many publica-
tions with a list of most common reasons of failure in
entrepreneurship4:
– lack of a written business plan to support the de-
velopment of the idea to a real business;
– lack of stable revenues from the activity;
– business opportunities are limited;
– inability to execute;
V. Hristova, P. Wołejsza
125
Економічний вісник Донбасу № 4(62), 2020
– the presence of too many competitors in the mar-
ket;
– lack of intellectual property;
– inexperienced team;
– underestimation of part of the resources neces-
sary for the business;
– little or no marketing activity;
– early giving in.
A significant part of these failures form barriers to
start own business. In a recent publication with a focus
on barriers 5 main reasons are outlined1: “no money bar-
rier”, “no time to start a business”, “no health benefits
nightmare”, “no family support” and “no confidence in
your abilities”, i.e. the barriers have a source both out-
side the individual and directly related to her/him.
A much more detailed analysis is given in a cross-
cultural study from 2010 by Giacomin, Jansses, Pruett,
Shinnar, Llopis and Toney2. It includes data on entre-
preneurial intentions, motivations and barriers from stu-
dents studying in Belgium, US, China, India and Spain.
Based on questionnaire with 20 items focused on bar-
riers the most significant among them are given below
(authors have taken into account variations according
country to country results):
lack of support structure and fiscal or administra-
tive costs;
lack of knowledge and experience;
economic climate and lack of entrepreneurial
competencies;
lack of self-confidence;
risk aversion.
Some of the authors with interest in the field make
different scope studies of barriers to starting a business
for students by studying students in specific specialties.
Khayri, Yaghoubi & Yazdanpanah studied the barriers
of 100 agricultural graduated students in Zanjan Univer-
sity, Iran3 deriving the following, ranked in order of im-
portance:
– weak government support for agriculture gra-
duates;
– financial inability to provide employment ar-
rangements in the agricultural sector;
– inefficacy of the universities in training gra-
duates;
– disproportion courses offered in agricultural col-
leges with labor market needs;
1 Zahorsky, D. Breaking the 5 Biggest Barriers to Starting a Business (January 30, 2020). URL: https://www.thebalanc-
esmb.com/barriers-to-starting-a-business-2951831.
2 Giacomin, O., Janssen, F., Pruett, M., Shinnar, R. S., Llopis, F. & Toney, B. (2011). Entrepreneurial intentions, motiva-
tions and barriers: Differences among American, Asian and European students. International Entrepreneurship and Manage-
ment Journal, Vol. June 2011, pp. 219–238 (p. 234, p. 226-230). doi 10.1007/s11365-010-0155-y.
3 Khayri, Sh., Yaghoubi, J. & Yazdanpanah, M. (2011). Investigating barriers to enhance entrepreneurship in agricultural
higher education from the perspective of graduate students. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 15, pp. 2818–2822.
4 Pahurkar, R., Kolte, As. & Jain, S. (2020). A Study of Perceived Barriers for Entrepreneurship Development among
Management Students. Test Engineering and Management, March-April, pp. 5607-5620. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/
publication/341120956_A_Study_of_Perceived_Barriers_for_Entrepreneurship_Development_among_Management_Students.
5 Asiedu, M. & Nduro, Kw. (2015). Polytechnic Students’ Entrepreneurial Knowledge, Preferences and Perceived Barriers
to Start–Up Business. European Journal of Business and Management, Vol.7, No.21, pp. 20-28.
– limitation of career opportunities in agriculture;
– low levels of employment knowledge and skills
of agricultural graduates;
– low level of creativity in graduates because of
inappropriate teaching methods in university;
– graduates lack of interest to the agricultural sec-
tor jobs.
Among the barriers identified by Iranian students,
those related to university education are particularly im-
pressive – ineffective education, inadequate teaching
methods, etc., which are clearly presented as a signifi-
cant obstacle for young people for their further develop-
ment in entrepreneurship.
In another study conducted among 500 first- and
second-year students studying management in the Uni-
versity of Pune, India a very serious barrier was high-
lighted: unavailability of capital, followed by: absence
of government policies and support as it was meant that
is not available easily or a bureaucratic hassle for getting
various certificate and clearances is not easy; to have fa-
vourable set of environmental conditions to set up and
run business along with available raw materials, etc. The
conclusion is: “it seems management education is for
getting corporate job instead of starting own business
unlike other professional education”4 and despite go-
vernment efforts to promote entrepreneurial careers
among young people, the results are still quite poor.
224 bachelor polytechnics students studying Hos-
pitality and catering management specialties at Takoradi
polytechnic, Ghana outlined following barriers: lack of
government support, lack of funding, lack of funding in-
formation about government agencies that can assist in
funding business, lack of exposure, and fear of failure5.
The authors concluded that usually these students are
trained how to manage/run a related business excellently
and the study indicated that most of the respondents sur-
veyed had the intention of starting up their own busi-
ness. Although they marked the challenge of knowledge
of support services and facilities, and above all notable
barriers that practically, prevent them from doing so.
This together with other distant factors quenches the de-
sire to take the initiative.
A kind of summary of what has been said so far can
be considered the classification of barriers by Sitaridis,
V. Hristova, P. Wołejsza
126
Економічний вісник Донбасу № 4(62), 2020
& Kitsios1. They proposed the classification after inves-
tigating 81 articles with a focus on the subject or related
subjects. Based on their research, they classify the bar-
riers into two large groups: internal and external, pre-
sented in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. Internal and external barriers by Sitaridis & Kitsios
The identified barriers were tested among 81 post-
graduate students of applied informatics of University
of Macedonia, Greece. Students specified two main fac-
tors influencing them concerning turning entrepreneur-
ial intentions into real business activities: role of educa-
tion to reorient students’ career choices towards entre-
preneurship, and additionally to make students capable
of devising ways to overcome the conceivable barriers;
and policy makers need to reduce the actual or perceived
barriers through appropriate entrepreneurship support
measures, in order to successfully overcome economic
stagnation. This study proves once again that modern
and adequate to the needs of students entrepreneurship
education, plays a significant role in orienting them to
entrepreneurial careers. Its absence or incorrect con-
struction can be easily overcome with the help of con-
temporary training tools, including chatbot solutions,
thus directing more young people to implement entre-
preneurial projects in various formats.
II. Empirical Study Results
II.1. Research framework and questionnaire
design
The study of barriers for starting a business by stu-
dents studying at universities in Bulgaria and Poland
was carried out in the period from January to March
1 Sitaridis & Kitsios. (2016). Students’ perceptions of barriers to entrepreneurship. Εκπαίδευση, Δια Βίου Μάθηση,
Έρευνακαι Τεχνολογική Ανάπτυξη, Καινοτομία και Οικονομία, 1, pp. 524-535. URL: https://www.researchgate.net/ publica-
tion/317109641_Students'_perceptions_of_barriers_to_entrepreneurship [accessed Sep 13 2020].
2 Hristova, V. & Vasilska, M. (2018). On entrepreneurial intentions – some aspects of survey results. In: Collective Sci-
entific Book of Faculty of Economics, “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo Annual Conference, dedi-
cated to the 25th anniversary of the Faculty establishment, 28-29.09.2017, Veliko Tarnovo: University publishing house, ISSN
2603-4093, pp. 175 – 183.
2020. A total of 120 students were questioned, 60 at
each university. The questionnaires consist of three sec-
tions with closed questions: intentions, motives and bar-
riers to starting a business as for a base for its construc-
tion is used a questionnaire developed by Hristova &
Vasilska2. This article analyses the results of the first
and fourth sections. Opinions’ analysed are given by
students attending Bachelor and Master Degrees with
distribution as follows:
Bachelors 1st semester – 60;
Bachelors 4th semester – 30;
Masters 1st and 2nd semester – 30.
Specialties of the surveyed Bulgarian students are
in the field of economy, management and business
linguistics (social sciences), as specialties of Polish stu-
dents are Geo-informatics, Geodesy and Cartography
and Computer Science, generally speaking technical
studies.
II.2. Entrepreneurial intentions for starting a
business by students
Summarized data from the question regarding in-
tentions for starting a business are given in fig. 2. Small
part of the surveyed students – 12%, indicates that they
do not intend to start their own business and prefer to be
employed. The remaining 88% expressed a positive at-
Internal barriers
- Personality;
- Education & Competence;
- Attitude;
- Gender
External Barriers
- Finance;
- Informal Support;
- Formal Support;
- Resources;
- Market Related;
- Law & Regulations;
- State Affairs;
- Hard Reality
V. Hristova, P. Wołejsza
127
Економічний вісник Донбасу № 4(62), 2020
titude towards the entrepreneurial initiative, with the
majority of them – 61 out of 120 counting on the emer-
gence of an idea that could be their own endeavour.
4% of the surveyed are ready to start within 1 year, and
only 2 students have already had a small business they
manage.
Fig. 2. Distribution of answers to question „Do you intend to start your own business“?
The data show that most of the students have inten-
tions related to entrepreneurship in the short, medium or
long term. Unfortunately, such comparable at national
level data are not available for a longer period of time,
due to the partial monitoring of the indicator for Bul-
garia (GEM). Although this we can see that the index in
Bulgaria is with significantly lower levels than in Po-
land.
Table 1
Entrepreneurial intentions rate for Poland and Bulgaria (2015-2019)
Country 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Bulgaria 5.34 7.09 5.01 3.9 na
Poland 19.97 20.83 9.69 9.48 6.00
Source: GEM. URL: https://www.gemconsortium.org/data.
II.3. Main barriers that prevent students to start
their own business
The summary of the data on barriers to students
when starting a business showed several interesting mo-
ments:
– the ranking by importance of the data is quite dif-
ferent from the point of view of the nationality of the
students as the strong barriers for the Bulgarian students
are not the same for the Polish ones and vice versa;
– some of the very significant and insignificant
barriers for Polish students have very similar values;
– a careful study of the data by Polish students in-
dicates a number of barriers that they do not actually
identify as such;
– in the data obtained from the Bulgarian students
the grouping by importance of the barriers is more
clearly distinguished as very strong, with medium sig-
nificance and insignificant.
Based on the above, we assume that the data ob-
tained in five scales can be summarized in a three-point
scale, thus allowing for a clearer delineation of the
groups of barriers relevant to the students studied. The
summarized data are presented in Table 2, which shows
that the most important is the barrier "Lack or insuffi-
cient financial resources", which was noted by 67% of
respondents. The immanent characteristic of entrepre-
neurship "High risk and uncertainty" (57%) is consi-
dered as a significant barrier to the implementation of
future entrepreneurial initiatives. At a third place is the
barrier "Regulatory, technological and other barriers to
the realization of my idea" with 48%, followed by “Cor-
ruption” (47.5%), “Lack of knowledge / insufficient in-
formation on research transfer mechanisms” (46.7%)
and “Strong competition” (45.8%). “Absence / low at-
tendance of entrepreneurial spirit and qualities in sec-
ondary school curricula”, “Availability and access to
information” and “Limited access to national and inter-
national markets” have been identified as barriers with
the lowest significance around and below 30%.
As other reasons for preventing starting a business
are pointed such as: laziness, demand for services in a
given city, language barriers, the Right motivation, lack
of experience, too much responsibility, too little profes-
sional experience, etc.
As noted, there are significant differences between
the data of Bulgarian and Polish students. Undoubtedly,
for both groups of questioned students the most serious
problem is the lack of sufficient financial resources.
However, the next most important barriers are arranged
differently and indicate different problem areas in both
countries. The visualization of the 5 most important
problem areas is given in Fig. 3.
17
6
12
42
61
6
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
a) No
b) Yes, within one year
c) Yes, up to three years
d) Yes, but after having sufficient work experience as an employee
e) Yes, but only if I come up with an idea that is worth the risk
f) Yes, but under certain conditions
V. Hristova, P. Wołejsza
128
Економічний вісник Донбасу № 4(62), 2020
Table 2
The summary of “What are the reasons that would prevent you from starting a business?”
question, arranged in descending order by groups
Group of
barriers Barriers before students to start their own business Not true Neither true
nor no
True
V
er
y
si
gn
if
ic
an
t
ba
rr
ie
rs
Lack or insufficient financial resources 10 30 80
High risk and uncertainty 21 29 68
Regulatory, technological and other barriers to the realization of
my idea
27 32 58
Corruption 32 30 57
Lack of knowledge / insufficient information on research transfer
mechanisms
27 34 56
Strong competition 24 40 55
S
ig
ni
fi
ca
nt
ba
rr
ie
rs
Weak / limited government policy 20 45 53
Absence / poor awareness of support programs 22 44 52
My lack of knowledge and skills, despite my entrepreneurship
training
34 34 51
Poor economic climate 37 33 48
W
ea
k
ba
rr
ie
rs
Features of the workforce in the country 32 45 43
Different perspective of SMEs and large companies 22 54 43
Political, institutional and social context 33 44 42
Imposed negative cultural and social norms in the country on en-
trepreneurship – e.g. low propensity to take entrepreneurial risk
36 39 42
Absence / low attendance of entrepreneurial spirit and qualities
in secondary school curricula
41 41 38
Availability and access to information 50 39 29
Limited access to national and international markets 14 25 20
Fig. 3. Leading barriers for Bulgarian and Polish students when starting a business
The widely identified and discussed corruption
problem in Bulgaria is noted as a very significant barrier
by Bulgarian students, while for their Polish counter-
parts this problem falls into the group of barriers of little
importance and as such is noted by only 1/3 of them.
Bulgarian students also see a significant absence on state
programs and policies in support of entrepreneurship in
general. Polish students emphasize the lack of training
in the acquisition of entrepreneurial knowledge and
skills and rank these barriers among the most important.
It is noteworthy that it seems that Polish students tend to
look for the reasons for refraining from entrepreneurship
rather in themselves, while for Bulgarian students the
emphasis is directed outside the individual – to the state.
From the point of the stage of students' education,
the summarized data outline the following picture: for
first-year students the most significant barrier for both
groups of students is “Lack or insufficient financial re-
sources”; for students from 4 semester the point of con-
tact is about the barrier “High risk and uncertainty”,
while for Master students at both studied groups we can
see the barriers: “Lack or insufficient financial re-
sources” and “High risk and uncertainty”.
Top 5 barriers before
Bulgarian students
Lack or insufficient financial resources –
68%
Corruption – 65%
Weak / limited government policy – 58%
High risk and uncertainty – 57%
Absence / poor awareness of support
programs – 52%
Top 5 barriers before
Polish students
Lack or insufficient financial resources –
65%
High risk and uncertainty – 57%
Lack of knowledge / insufficient
information on research transfer
mechanisms – 48%
My lack of knowledge and skills, despite
my entrepreneurship training – 48%
Strong competition – 48%
V. Hristova, P. Wołejsza
129
Економічний вісник Донбасу № 4(62), 2020
II.4. Differences between groups of students in
Poland
Definitely “Lack or insufficient financial re-
sources” is the main challenge for young people that
prevent them to start the business. Such result can be
expected also in other countries and continents. In Po-
land, all groups, despite experience level, have chosen
that answer most frequently.
The second highest scored results in Poland is
“High risk and uncertainty”. In this case situation bet-
ween groups is different. Despite this is very popular an-
swer in the whole Polish group, it is not so common
amongst younger group. It can be assumed, that during
the education process, students gain knowledge, what
brings them into the higher level of uncertainly. The less
you know the better? A very controversial sentence, par-
ticularly in the education institution. The same meaning,
but sounds better: “I know that I know nothing”. How
many people after graduation can say so?
The third most popular answer “Lack of know-
ledge / insufficient information on research transfer
mechanisms” brings reverse tendency. For the youngest
group it is more challenging that for older groups. This
conclusion is consistent with the previous one. Master
group is more experienced, or at least should be more
experienced that 1st semester students. At the same
time, Master students, based on own experience, can
identify more barriers and risks when starting own busi-
ness. The ability to take risks decreases with age. Crea-
tivity level decline during the education process as we
are trained, that only one answer is correct. This is the
effect of the widespread use of tests to verify
knowledge. And when all answers except one are
wrong, it is really very risky to take any action.
As the barriers with the lowest level, Polish stu-
dents indicated:
“Limited access to national and international mar-
kets” and “Corruption”. These two barriers are some-
how correlated as access to the market can be limited by
corruption. In other words, paying a bribe, in some
countries, can open up business opportunities. Of course
corruption generally limits the access to the market and
therefore creates huge barrier to start the business.
II.5. Differences between groups of students in
Bulgaria
The summarized data of Bulgarian students’ an-
swers also indicated interesting differences. The studied
students are economics and their disciplines focus ex-
clusively on the peculiarities of the internal and external
environment in which organizations work and develop
their endeavors. This fragmentarily explains the answers
they give regarding barriers to starting a business.
Regarding their entrepreneurial intentions, the
most frequently mentioned answer from them was Yes,
but only if I come up with an idea that is worth the risk.
The highest results here were given by the Master stu-
dents – 87%, followed by the 2nd semester students –
73% and lastly the bachelors from the 4th semester with
only 40%. According to these data, it is convincing that
students studying in Master programs are highly entre-
preneurial in recognizing an idea that they think would
be more respectable, as some of them indicated that they
intend to develop entrepreneurial projects within exist-
ing business structures, i.e. they pointed out the intrapre-
neurial career as desired development path. These data
are logical, as the specialties studied by the students sug-
gest enhanced entrepreneurial behavior inside and out-
side the existing business structures. We also have to
point that only 3 students – 1 from each group, have con-
vincingly stated that they did not intend to start their
own business.
Analysis of students’ data by course of studying
shows that there are some differences which barriers are
considered as significant and discourage students from
starting their own businesses. It is an interesting fact that
only half of the 1st year students pointed the lack of suf-
ficient knowledge in the field of entrepreneurship as a
significant barrier, and a significantly larger part of them
emphasize the lack of funds, corruption, lack of suffi-
cient state support and high risk. Almost similar barriers
are identified by 2nd year students, but unlike 1st year
students, just under half of them point to the lack of suf-
ficient financial instruments to start a business as a very
significant barrier. The masters again emphasize the
barriers, lack of sufficient financial resources and cor-
ruption. It is noteworthy that the barriers indicated in
third and fourth place for the three groups of students
studied are identical, namely “High risk and uncer-
tainty” and “Weak / limited government policy”.
Table 3
Summarized “Very significant” barriers before students to start own business by levels of study, %1
Barriers % Barriers % Barriers %
B
ac
h
el
or
's
d
eg
re
e,
1st
s
em
es
te
r
Lack or insufficient
financial resources
77
B
ac
h
el
or
's
d
eg
re
e,
4th
s
em
es
te
r
Corruption 73
M
as
te
r'
s
d
eg
re
e
st
u
d
en
ts
Lack or insufficient
financial resources
73
Corruption 60 Poor economic climate 60 Corruption 67
High risk and uncer-
tainty
57 High risk and uncer-
tainty
60 High risk and uncer-
tainty
67
Weak / limited govern-
ment policy
57 Weak / limited govern-
ment policy
53 Weak / limited govern-
ment policy
67
Absence / poor aware-
ness of support programs
57 Political, institutional
and social context
53 Regulatory, technologi-
cal and other barriers
67
1.
Multiply answers were accepted.
V. Hristova, P. Wołejsza
130
Економічний вісник Донбасу № 4(62), 2020
Summarizing the biggest barriers before Bulgarian
students are: Lack or insufficient financial resources
and Corruption. As barriers with the lowest levels, they
indicate the following:
Bachelor's degree, 1st semester – Absence / low
attendance of entrepreneurial spirit and qualities in sec-
ondary school curricula – 27%;
Bachelor's degree, 4th semester – Availability
and access to information – 13%;
Master’s degree students – 27%.
Conclusion
“Lack or insufficient financial resources” is a fac-
tor which definitely joins young entrepreneurs from
Bulgaria and Poland. Authors did not extend their re-
searchers outside those countries. However, it can be as-
sumed with the high probability, that this barrier is one
of the main barriers also worldwide. From the other side
it is also a very convenient excuse: “I do not have money
to make a business”. It can be rephrased: “I do not have
money to make money”. This is one of the main chal-
lenges for teachers, mentors, coaches etc., particularly
those, who linked with entrepreneurship education.
How to convince young people that it is possible to start
the business without money? It is possible, when there
is a proper government policy and there is no corruption.
On two mentioned factors, education institutions can
have an influence. It is somehow limited as it is not a
direct influence. However proper education of young
people should bring the desired results in the future.
Education institutions have direct influence on the level
of knowledge and skills among young generation.
Polish students pointed out lack of knowledge and skills.
This can be explained by the lack of economic education
(Maritime University). Bulgarian students, who study at
economic departments, do not underline this barrier.
From the other side, do we need economic experience to
start the business?
Final conclusion: do all those barriers, except cor-
ruption, exist only in our heads? Does the education pro-
cess deliver together with knowledge more and more
barriers? Does the education process create the feeling
that only one solution is good (tests, tests, tests) and
therefore generates a fear of taking a risk/prototype? Do
children in kindergarten afraid to prototype? No, there-
fore they can create two times higher Marshmallow
towers than business school students1. “Imagination is
more important than knowledge” Albert Einstein.
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Христова В., Волейша П. Бар'єри перед підпри-
ємницькими намірами і бізнес-ініціативами студен-
тів – результати емпіричного дослідження серед
болгарських та польських студентів
У статті представлено найбільш важливі переш-
коди для болгарських та польських студентів, через які
вони відмовляються від своїх підприємницьких намі-
рів або значно скорочують їх реалізацію та відкриття
нового бізнесу. Існують значні і різноманітні переш-
коди на шляху здійснення підприємницької діяльності,
але особливо важливо, щоб вони були позначені для
молодих людей з бажанням і намірами до підприємни-
цтва. Підприємницька діяльність, що розвивається мо-
лодими освіченими людьми, дуже важлива для ініцію-
вання та виявлення змін в структурах економіки і сус-
пільства. Все більш важливе місце в цьому процесі зай-
мають вищі навчальні заклади, які при відповідній під-
готовці можуть «перетворити» наміри в реальну під-
приємницьку діяльність або повністю заблокувати лю-
дей з великим підприємницьким потенціалом. Мета
цієї статті – виділити деякі ключові перешкоди, що за-
важають студентам розвивати свої ділові наміри й іні-
ціативи. Вони засновані на опитуванні, проведеному в
Болгарії і Польщі серед студентів, які вивчають під-
приємницькі дисципліни в університеті «Св. Кирила
і Св. Мефодія» у Велико Тирново (Болгарія) і Морсь-
кому університеті Щецина (Польща). На підставі цього
робляться деякі висновки і даються рекомендації уні-
верситетам з точки зору посилення їх ролі як зовнішніх
мотиваторів для запуску студентами різних підприєм-
ницьких проєктів.
Ключові слова: підприємництво, потенціал, бар'єри,
бізнес-наміри студентів, відкриття бізнесу, універси-
тет.
Hristova V., Wołejsza P. Barriers before Students`
Entrepreneurial Intentions and Business Initiatives –
Results by Empirical Study of Bulgarian and Polish
Students
This article outlines the most important barriers for
Bulgarian and Polish students that abandon or significantly
reduce the execution of their entrepreneurial intentions and
the start of new businesses. There are significant and di-
verse barriers in the implementation of entrepreneurial ac-
tivities, but it is especially important that they are outlined
for young people with a desire and intentions for entrepre-
neurship. Entrepreneurial activities developed by young
educated people are very important for the initiating and
identifying changes in the economy’s and society’s struc-
tures. An increasingly important place in this process is
taken by higher education institutions, which with their
adequate training can "turn" intentions into real entrepre-
neurial activities or completely lock people with great po-
tential for entrepreneurship. The aim of this article is to
highlight some key barriers preventing students to develop
their business intentions and initiatives. They are based on
a survey conducted in Bulgaria and Poland among students
studying entrepreneurial subjects at the “St. Cyril and
St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo and Mari-
time University of Szczecin, Poland. On this basis, some
conclusions are outlined and recommendations are made to
universities in terms of strengthening their role as external
motivators for launching various entrepreneurial projects
by their students.
Keywords: entrepreneurship, potential, barriers, stu-
dents' business intentions, starting a business, university.
Христова В., Волейша П. Барьеры перед пред-
принимательскими намерениями и бизнес-инициа-
тивами студентов – результаты эмпирического ис-
следования среди болгарских и польских студентов
В статье описаны наиболее важные препятствия
для болгарских и польских студентов, которые отказы-
ваются от своих предпринимательских намерений или
значительно сокращают их реализацию и открытие но-
вого бизнеса. Существуют значительные и разнообраз-
ные препятствия на пути осуществления предпринима-
тельской деятельности, но особенно важно, чтобы они
были обозначены для молодых людей с желанием и
намерениями к предпринимательству. Предпринима-
тельская деятельность, развиваемая молодыми образо-
ванными людьми, очень важна для инициирования и
выявления изменений в структурах экономики и обще-
ства. Всё более важное место в этом процессе зани-
мают высшие учебные заведения, которые при соот-
ветствующей подготовке могут «превратить» намере-
ния в реальную предпринимательскую деятельность
или полностью заблокировать людей с большим пред-
принимательским потенциалом. Цель этой статьи – вы-
делить некоторые ключевые препятствия, мешающие
студентам развивать свои деловые намерения и иници-
ативы. Они основаны на опросе, проведенном в Болга-
рии и Польше среди студентов, изучающих предпри-
нимательские дисциплины в университете «Св. Ки-
рилла и Св. Мефодия» Велико Тырново (Болгария) и
Морском университете Щецина (Польша). На основа-
нии этого делаются некоторые выводы и даются реко-
мендации университетам с точки зрения усиления их
роли как внешних мотиваторов для запуска студен-
тами различных предпринимательских проектов.
Ключевые слова: предпринимательство, потен-
циал, барьеры, бизнес-намерения студентов, открытие
бизнеса, университет.
Received by the editors: 12.10.2020
and final form 29.12.2020
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