Exploring individual entrepreneurial orientation through education in emerging market conditions: the case of Malaysia and Thailand

The motivators that guide university students’ individual entrepreneurial orientation towards new venture creation are an emerging theme. The novel settings of entrepreneurship education the developing country context of South East Asia (Malaysia and Thailand) are used, while comparing them to key assumptions on general business in Asia and the west. A total of 332 participants were recruited. The items were reduced to five components using principal component analysis, and, using binomial logistic regression, shown to predict some of the variance in perceptions on individual entrepreneurial orientation in Malaysia and Thailand. The study shows that individual entrepreneurial orientation motivators can be separated into the distinct dimensions of which innovation, proactiveness, risk taking, and culture correlate with the the decision to become an entrepreneur in Southeast Asia. In addition, assumptions on business and education in the west and in Asia hold partially in Southeast Asia and entrepreneurial new venture creation particularly regarding risk and autonomy.