The need to foster self-efficacy among students : A multidimensional picture of Jönköping International Business School society

Abstract: Entrepreneurship is defined as the process of developing, organizing, and managing a new business venture. It is considered as a process of great importance because it improves economic growth, prosperity, innovation and employment. Researchers have identified that different factors, such as individual's background, personal attributes, traits and beliefs, influence the intentions of entrepreneurs to launch a new start up. However, one specific element of personal attributes is seen as a key determinant of developing entrepreneurial intentions - self-efficacy. The purpose of this work is to determine how the individual's level of self-efficacy is influenced by cultural dimensions. For this purpose, Hofstede's model consisting of five cultural dimensions was used. In order to investigate the problem, an explorative approach with a quantitative strategy was conducted as a survey involving 154 students from Jönköping International Business School in Jönköping, Sweden. The results revealed that only one of the cultural dimensions (Long-term Orientation) has a direct effect on self-efficacy. The other four do not have significant correlation with the self-efficacy levels of students. Therefore, recommendations for further research on this topic are presented.