Index

Abstract

The Chinese society has paid greater attention to college students’ entrepreneurship since 2015 when colleges and universities first introduced entrepreneurship education. How to improve the entrepreneurial intention of college students and find the factors that affect the entrepreneurial intention of students are major research topics of many studies. Entrepreneurship is a kind of social activity, and the relationship between entrepreneurship and environment is essentially the relationship between people and society. Previous studies have found that environments make a great impact on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The purpose of this study was to find out two important components in college environment and family environment, namely, the impact of participation in entrepreneurship competition and family entrepreneurship background on entrepreneurial intention of higher vocational college students. A descriptive design was used in this quantitative study. The samples were collected from 400 higher vocational students of Guangdong Polytechnic Science and Technology in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China. The findings of this study showed that students who participated in entrepreneurship competition had better personal attitude towards entrepreneurship, higher views of social norms in entrepreneurship and stronger intention to start their own business than who did not participate. Students from families with entrepreneurial background had higher views of social norms in entrepreneurship and stronger entrepreneurial intention than those without families with entrepreneurial background. This study has crucial practical implication as it suggests that both colleges and families need to create more suitable environment to stimulate students’ entrepreneurial intention.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial intention, Entrepreneurship education, Family entrepreneurship background, Higher vocational college student, Participation in entrepreneurship competition, Theory of planned behavior.

Received: 29 February 2022 / Revised: 27 September 2022 / Accepted: 12 October 2022 / Published:7 November 2022

Contribution/ Originality

This study is the first to examine the impact of entrepreneurship competition and family entrepreneurship background on the entrepreneurial intention of vocational college students in China.This study makes theoretical contributions by providing reference for China's entrepreneurship education and training methods, to stimulate students' willingness to start businesses, and provide talent support for the economic and social development of China.

1. INTRODUCTION

Entrepreneurial activity is an important driving force for a country’s long-term economic development and a transformation form of innovation. It requires a dynamic transformation that combines imagination, transformation and creativity to provide new ways for corporate profits and achieve economic success, while also delivering social value and jobs (Kuratko, 2005). Therefore, entrepreneurship is increasingly valued by the governments of various countries, and the wave of entrepreneurship continues to sweep the world.

The Chinese government also attaches great importance to entrepreneurship and has made innovation and entrepreneurship a national strategy. According to the 2015 Government Work Report, mass entrepreneurship and innovation will be an important factor in China’s economic development. In the following years, the government continues to introduce a series of policies and measures to improve the business environment, promote scientific and technological innovation and create jobs through entrepreneurship, with the aim of promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in a larger scope, higher and deeper level.

The research on entrepreneurial intention has always been an important part of entrepreneurial research. Research on entrepreneurial intention has led to many models and theories to explain what governs people’s entrepreneurship. The most prominent and accepted of these theories is the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991). The theory mainly explains personal attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are the predictor of intentions. A number of programs have been put in place by China in an attempt to encourage Chinese college students’ entrepreneurial intention and activity. This includes teaching innovation and entrepreneurship in colleges and organizing a series of entrepreneurship competitions. Students who participate in these activities are generally interested in entrepreneurship in the future (Peterman & Kennedy, 2003) which may come from a family background in business or entrepreneurship. In order to better explore the entrepreneurial path of higher vocational college students, this paper will discuss the determinants of entrepreneurial intention, especially focusing on the impact of participation in entrepreneurship competition and family entrepreneurial background on students’ entrepreneurial intention.

1.1. Research Hypotheses

Six hypotheses were formulated and tested in this study.

Ho1: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their participation in entrepreneurship competition.
Ho2: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their participation in entrepreneurship competition.
Ho3: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for entrepreneurial intention according to their participation in entrepreneurship competition.
Ho4: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background.
Ho5: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background.
Ho6: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for entrepreneurial intention according to their families’ entrepreneurial background.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Entrepreneurial Intention and the Theory of Planned Behavior

The word intention has originated from the field of psychology. It refers to the tendency of an individual to respond to the object of his or her attitude, which is the early psychological manifestation of the choice of future action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1975). Bandura (2002) points out that intention reflects a commitment to a particular behavior, leading individuals to spontaneously focus on a particular goal and search for information about how to achieve it. According to Fan and Wang (2006) study, entrepreneurial intention can be defined as a subjective attitude, which is the degree to which people have characteristics similar to those of entrepreneurs. The theoretical basis includes Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Shapero’s Entrepreneurial Event (SEE) model.

Ajzen and Fishbein (1975) proposed the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) in 1973. It is believed that behavioral attitude and subjective norms directly affect behavioral intention, while behavioral intention directly determines actual behavior. However, since this theory assumes that individual behavior is controlled only by intention and ignores other interfering factors, its explanatory power, application and promotion is limited (Hockerts, 2015). The Theory of Planned Behavior is an important theory applied in the field of entrepreneurial intention in social psychology, and it is the only theory in social psychology that regards intention as a factor that can predict behavior, mainly planned behavior and goal-oriented behavior (Zaremohzzabieh et al., 2019).

Many studies use the Theory of Planned Behavior model to explore personal entrepreneurial intention, and the model has proved to be suitable for entrepreneurial intention (Zaremohzzabieh et al., 2019). The study of factors affecting entrepreneurial intention is also further developed; individual’s background factors such as gender, faculty and family studies prove that may have great influence on entrepreneurial intention and behavior. This paper used the Theory of Planned Behavior model to explore the impact of family business background and participation in entrepreneurship competition on higher vocational college students’ entrepreneurial intention.

2.2. Studies Related to Entrepreneurial Intention according to Individuals’ Participation in Entrepreneurship Competition

The United States, which was the first to carry out entrepreneurship education, rapidly carried out entrepreneurship education and activities for college students in the early 1980s. In 1983, the University of Texas at Austin held the first college students’ entrepreneurship competition (Ding, 2007). According to Karlsson (2005), almost every business university or college in the United States has courses on business plan writing, a growing number of prestigious universities such as Harvard, Stanford and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology are holding annual entrepreneurship competitions that involve writing business plans (Karlsson & Honig, 2009). In 1997, Tsinghua University introduced the business plan competition to China, and launched the first college student business competition in 1998 (Cai, 2017). In 2014, the proposal of “Mass entrepreneurship and innovation” set off a wave of innovation and entrepreneurship across China. In 2015, The State Council of China issued the Opinions on Policies and Measures to Vigorously Promote Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation, explicitly supporting various kinds of innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, calling for regular holding of China’s innovation and entrepreneurship competitions to mobilize more social resources to support innovation and entrepreneurship and create a favorable atmosphere for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship competition is generally initiated and hosted by a third party organization, such as non-profit organization, foundation or enterprise organization, and then the invitation is issued to social personnel (Sun, 2016). In order to further stimulate college students’ enthusiasm for innovation and entrepreneurship, demonstrate the achievements of innovation and entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities, Chinese Education Department led the “Internet Plus” and “Challenge Cup” College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. In addition to these two national-level entrepreneurship competitions, various kinds of entrepreneurship competitions are regularly held by various provinces, cities and industry associations, China has initially formed a network of entrepreneurship competitions.

In order to improve students’ entrepreneurial intention and stimulate students’ entrepreneurial behavior, colleges and universities in China and abroad have actively carried out various forms of entrepreneurial education, and scholars have carried out extensive discussions on entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial intention of college students. Entrepreneurship is a complex activity that requires strong practical ability (Lv, Chen, Sha, Huang, & Huang, 2021). Students not only need to receive entrepreneurship courses to acquire relevant entrepreneurial knowledge, but also need experiential learning close to real entrepreneurship to cultivate their practical ability of entrepreneurship. As an aspect of experiential learning, entrepreneurship competition can let students know the real situation of entrepreneurship and promote their entrepreneurship intention (Lv et al., 2021). After nearly 40 years of development, the popularity of entrepreneurship competition has been greatly improved, but there are few academic studies on it, and the research is still not systematic.

The study by Xiang and Lei (2014) found that the entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial attitude of college students who have participated in competitions or won awards are higher than those who have not participated in competitions, and the entrepreneurial intention of college students who participated in multiple competitions is also significantly different from that of those who participated in only one competition. College students who participated in the entrepreneurship competition showed higher views of entrepreneurial attitude, social norms and perceived behavioral control than those who did not participate in the competition (Huang, Zhu, Zhang, & Yu, 2021) . Berger and Myhrer (2012) studied 132 Norwegian college students who had participated in an entrepreneurship competition and 593 who had not participated in an entrepreneurship competition, the results indicated that participating in a business plan competition significantly improved college students’ perceived behavioral control in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship competition exerts a significant positive influence on college students’ entrepreneurial intention (Pan & Lu, 2020) .

2.3. Studies Related to Entrepreneurial Intention according to Individuals’ Family Entrepreneurial Background

As a very important part of social relations, family has been playing an important role in resource allocation. Social capital with family as the core continues from generation to generation. Some scholars have also conducted relevant studies on the influence of family entrepreneurial background on college students’ entrepreneurship. Growing up in a business family, students will be exposed to the entrepreneurial atmosphere (Zhang, 2013) and parents will intentionally or unintentionally teach them relevant skills and values, which will affect their future entrepreneurial intentions (Carr & Sequeira, 2007) . Through the family life in which their family runs a business, their attitude and intention to start a business will be influenced by their family (Altinay & Altinay, 2006) . Therefore, students with family business background are more inclined to start a business (Getz & Carlsen, 2005) . Early exposure to entrepreneurship or family business experience will affect family members’ attitude and intention to start a business (Drennan, Kennedy, & Renfrow, 2004) . Encouragement from family and friends and parental entrepreneurial background are very important social capital which can be the key sources of social norm and resource support, also have been shown to be associated with the emergence of entrepreneurs (Davidsson & Honig, 2003) .

A study of 306 Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) students from five private universities in Pakistan showed that family background has a positive influence on students’ entrepreneurial intentions, and students whose parents are entrepreneurs have higher inclination to be entrepreneur (Farrukh, Khan, Khan, Ramzani, & Soladoye, 2017) . According to the study by Shukla, Kumar, and Kaushal (2021) early family business exposure has an important influence on the shaping of entrepreneurial intention of college students in India, if they feel that starting a business is feasible in their environment, students are more likely to become entrepreneurs. College students with entrepreneurial family background have higher entrepreneurial intention than students with non-entrepreneurial family background and the difference is significant (Mei, Ma, Zhan, & Jiao, 2016) .

Other studies have shown the opposite result, for example the study by Kim, Aldrich, and Keister (2006) found that whether their parents were entrepreneurs or working-class had no significant effect on whether their children were likely to become new entrepreneurs. Baughn, Cao, Le, Lim, and Neupert’s (2006) study of three countries showed that having family background in China and Philippines did not increase entrepreneurial intention.

3. METHODOLOGY

In this study, the researcher conducted a descriptive research design using the quantitative data. The 400 samples were drawn from 8,000 second year higher vocational college students who had taken entrepreneurship courses from Guangdong Polytechnic Science and Technology in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China. The stratified random sampling method was used. The data was collected by a questionnaire which was created by Liñán and Chen (2009) and was modified to some extent. The questionnaire contained four parts and used a 7-point Likert Scale.

In order to obtain the reliability of the instrument, the researcher used Cronbach's Alpha to conduct a pilot test on 60 students, and the value was 0.930, which was greater than 0.90, indicating that the questionnaire were highly reliable, and could be used in the real test (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016) .
The quantitative data collected from 400 students’ questionnaires were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The descriptive statistics were analyzed through Mean and Standard Deviation, and the inferential statistics were analyzed through Independent Samples t-test to test the hypothesis.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Ho1: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition.

This hypothesis tests the difference in mean scores for students’ personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition. Participate in the innovation and entrepreneurship competition may affect students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship.

Table 1. Comparison of higher vocational college students’ mean scores for personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition.
Competition
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Mean Difference
t-value
df
p-value
Yes
83
5.51
0.728
0.201
2.053
398
0.041
No
317
5.31
0.81

Note: Level of significance is at p<0.05.

Table 1 presents the mean scores for personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition. The mean scores for the students who have participated in the innovation and entrepreneurship competition are higher (Mean=5.51, SD=0.728) than the students who have not (Mean=5.31, SD=0.810). Findings from the independent sample t-test show that there is a significant difference in the mean scores for personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition (Mean Difference=0.201, t=2.053, df=398, p=0.041). Therefore, the findings reject Ho1.

These findings clearly indicate that there is a significant difference in the mean scores for students’ personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition, and students who participated in the innovation and entrepreneurship competition have significantly better attitudes toward entrepreneurship than those who did not participate. The results are also consistent with findings by Shapero and Sokol (1982) who believed that people who have received training or possess relevant skills can affect their attitudes towards behaviors. Current findings are also consistent with the findings of Russell et al. (2004) which clearly showed that participating in entrepreneurship competitions can change students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship, making them more confident and more inclined to take risks.

These results also support findings by Huang et al. (2021) which indicated that entrepreneurial competition experience has a positive and significant impact on students’ entrepreneurial attitude. In the process of entrepreneurial competition, students can experience the entrepreneurial activity and formation of entrepreneurial cognitive or change the stereotype of entrepreneurship, and deepen the understanding of entrepreneurship, so that they can more rationally determine their attitude towards entrepreneurship and determine their own interest in entrepreneurship and the feasibility of the business.

Ho2: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition.

This hypothesis tests the difference in the mean scores for students’ social norms in entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition. Students who participated in the innovation and entrepreneurship competition may experience different social norms for entrepreneurship from those who have not.

Table 2. Comparison of higher vocational college students’ mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition.
Competition
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Mean Difference
t-value
df
p-value
Yes
83
5.54
0.648
0.164
2.011
398
0.046
No
317
5.38
0.703

Note: Level of significance is at p<0.05.

Table 2 presents the mean scores for students’ social norms in entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition. The mean scores for the students who had participated in the innovation and entrepreneurship competition are higher (Mean=5.54, SD=0.648) than the students who had not (Mean=5.38, SD=0.703). Findings from the independent sample t-test reveal that there is a significant difference in the mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition (Mean Difference=0.164, t=2.011, df=398, p=0.046). Therefore, the findings reject Ho2.

The findings clearly indicate that there is a significant effect in students’ mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition. Students who participated in the innovation and entrepreneurship competition are more likely to feel supported by social norms in entrepreneurship compared with the students who did not participate. These findings are parallel with findings by Berger and Myhrer (2012) which indicated that entering a startup competition requires writing a business plan, which covers many aspects related to how to start a company. As a result, participants often have additional support and knowledge from experts or people around them, and may have more social support conditions than others.

These findings also have consistence with the findings of Lüthje and Franke (2003), who conducted a study on engineering students in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and showed that entrepreneurship competition arranged by the university could make students perceive the support of the environment for entrepreneurship and would affect their entrepreneurial intention. These findings are supported by Huang et al. (2021) which indicated that taking part in entrepreneurship competition has a positive and significant influence on the subjective norms of engineering college students.

 Ho3: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for entrepreneurial intention according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition.

This hypothesis tests the difference in the mean scores for students’ entrepreneurial intention according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition.

Table 3. Comparison of higher vocational college students’ mean scores for entrepreneurial intention according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition.
Competition
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Mean Difference
t-value
df
p-value
Yes
83
5.05
1.092
0.293
2.295
398
0.022
No
317
4.76
1.02

Note: Level of significance is at p<0.05.

Table 3 demonstrates students’ mean scores for entrepreneurial intention according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition. The mean scores for the students who participated in the innovation and entrepreneurship competition are higher (Mean=5.05, SD=1.092) than the students who did not participate (Mean=4.76, SD=1.020). Findings from the independent sample t-test reveal that there is a significant difference in students’ mean scores for entrepreneurial intention according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition (Mean Difference=0.293, t=2.295, df=398, p=0.022). Therefore, the findings reject Ho3.

The findings clearly indicate that there is a significant effect in students’ entrepreneurial intention according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition and students who participated in the innovation and entrepreneurship competition have stronger intention to start their own business than who did not participate. These findings are consistent with findings by Zhao, Seibert, and Hills (2005) which stressed that simulated business situation exercises including participation in entrepreneurship competitions significantly improved students’ entrepreneurial intentions. These results support findings by Lv et al. (2021) which showed that students’ participation in business plan competition can improve their entrepreneurial intention. These findings also have consistence with the findings of Xiang and Lei (2014) which indicated that as a form of entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship plan competition can significantly improve students’ entrepreneurial intention.

Ho4: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background.

This hypothesis tests the difference in mean scores for students’ personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background. It also tested whether or not families’ entrepreneurial background may affect students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship.

Table 4. Comparison of higher vocational college students’ mean scores for personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background.
Family
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Mean Difference
t-value
df
p-value
Yes
110
5.45
0.708
0.132
1.482
398
0.139
No
290
5.32
0.827

Note: Level of significance is at p<0.05.

Table 4 presents students’ mean scores for personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background. The mean scores for the students who have families’ entrepreneurial background are higher (Mean=5.45, SD=0.708) than the students who do not have families’ entrepreneurial background (Mean=5.32, SD=0.827). Findings from the independent sample t-test show that there is no significant difference in the mean scores for students’ personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background (Mean Difference=.132, t=1.482, df=398, p=0.139). Therefore, the findings accept Ho4.

The findings clearly indicate that students’ families entrepreneurial background has no effect on their personal attitude towards entrepreneurship. These findings are consistent with findings by Kim et al. (2006) which indicated that parents’ experience of entrepreneurship as a form of cultural capital did not promote the new generation’s attitude to entrepreneurship. This may be because parents have had mixed success stories in starting businesses, continued economic instability and long working hours can prevent the children of entrepreneurs from following in their footsteps. These findings are consistent with findings by Gerba (2012) which stressed that there is no significant difference in students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship between students who had prior family business exposure and those who had no such exposure.

Ho5: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background.

This hypothesis tests students’ mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background. Social norms in entrepreneurship mainly come from the opinions of people around students on their entrepreneurship. If students’ families have entrepreneurial background, they may experience different social norms from students without such background.

Table 5. Comparison of higher vocational college students’ mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background.
Family
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Mean Difference
t-value
df
p-value
Yes
110
5.56
0.638
0.201
2.600
398
0.01
No
290
5.36
0.708

Note: Level of significance is at p<0.05.

Table 5 presents the mean scores for students’ social norms in entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background. The mean scores for the students who have families’ entrepreneurial background are higher (Mean=5.56, SD=0.638) than the students who do not have (Mean=5.36, SD=0.708). Findings from the independent sample t-test reveal that there is a significant difference in the mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background (Mean Difference=0.201, t=2.600, df=398, p=0.010). Therefore, the findings reject Ho5.

The findings clearly indicate that there is a significant effect in students’ mean scores for social norms in entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background. Students whose families have entrepreneurial background are more likely to feel supported by social norms in entrepreneurship compared with whose did not have. These findings have consistence with the findings of Menaghan and Parcel (1995) which demonstrated that parents’ entrepreneurial experiences have a significant impact on their children, and these influences can be internalized into their future social norms about entrepreneurship. Current findings are consistent with results by Carr and Sequeira (2007) which indicated that families with business background often persuade and support their children to participate in entrepreneurial activities, and they are expected to have higher entrepreneurial tendencies in the future. These findings are also parallel to findings by Venkatapathy and Pretheeba (2014) which indicated that there is a positive relationship between family background on social norms in entrepreneurship.

Ho6: There is no significant difference in higher vocational college students’ mean scores for entrepreneurial intention according to their families’ entrepreneurial background.

This hypothesis tests the difference in the mean scores for students’ entrepreneurial intention according to their families’ entrepreneurial background. It also tests whether students grow up in a family with an entrepreneurial background may have an impact on their entrepreneurial intentions.

Table 6. Comparison of higher vocational college students’ mean scores for entrepreneurial intention according to their families’ entrepreneurial background.
Family
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Mean Difference
t-value
df
p-value
Yes
110
5.03
1.009
0.294
2.539
398
0.012
No
290
4.74
1.043

Note: Level of significance is at p<0.05.

Table 6 demonstrates the mean scores for students’ entrepreneurial intention according to their families’ entrepreneurial background. The mean scores for the students who have families’ entrepreneurial background are higher (Mean=5.03, SD=1.009) than the students who do not have (Mean=4.74, SD=1.043). Findings from the independent sample t-test reveal that there is a significant difference in the mean scores for students’ entrepreneurial intention according to their families’ entrepreneurial background (Mean Difference=0.294, t=2.539, df=398, p=0.012). Therefore, the findings reject Ho6.

The findings clearly indicate that there is a significant effect in students’ entrepreneurial intention according to their families’ entrepreneurial background. Students from families with entrepreneurial background have stronger entrepreneurial intention than those without families’ entrepreneurial background. These findings are parallel with findings by Davidsson and Honig (2003) which indicated that parental ownership of businesses has been shown to correlate with the emergence of a new generation of entrepreneurial intention. These findings are also consist with findings by Baughn et al. (2006) which showed that the entrepreneurial activities of parents or siblings in Vietnam have a positive impact on students’ entrepreneurial intention. These findings also have consistency with Mei et al. (2016) which indicated that family business tradition has a significant impact on entrepreneurial intention.

5. CONCLUSION

The findings from the quantitative data of this study show that there are significant differences in students’ personal attitude towards entrepreneurship, views of social norms in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention according to their participation in innovation and entrepreneurship competition. Students who participated in the innovation and entrepreneurship competition have better personal attitude towards entrepreneurship, higher views of social norms in entrepreneurship and stronger intention to start their own business than who did not participate. Findings also indicate that there are significant differences in students’ views of social norms in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention according to their families’ entrepreneurial background. Students from families with entrepreneurial background have significantly higher views of social norms in entrepreneurship and stronger entrepreneurial intention than those without the entrepreneurial family background. However, there is no significant difference in students’ personal attitude towards entrepreneurship according to their families’ entrepreneurial background.

The findings of this study provide practical implications for students and entrepreneurial practitioners. College students are the learning subjects, core participants and biggest stakeholders of entrepreneurship education. As such, colleges and universities should pay attention to students’ needs in entrepreneurship education.

The innovation and entrepreneurship competition provides a good platform for college students to improve their innovation and entrepreneurship practice ability. It influences social values and benefits college students with the advantage of high social participation. Innovation and entrepreneurship competition belongs to practical education, which is participated by teachers and students, and it is connected with classroom teaching. In the future development of entrepreneurship education, colleges and universities should enrich entrepreneurship courses, innovate teaching methods, strengthen teachers’ pedagogy, promote the close combination of teaching and practice to enhance students’ innovative spirit, entrepreneurial intention and ability.

First of all, from the perspective of construction and teaching method of entrepreneurship courses should start from guiding students’ thinking and enhancing their understanding of entrepreneurship, so that they can truly master the process and methods of entrepreneurship and carry out entrepreneurship more rationally. Secondly, colleges and universities should rely on the entrepreneurship competition and other activities to build a practical environment for entrepreneurship education and strengthen entrepreneurship training. Third, colleges and universities should cultivate and build a professional team of entrepreneurship mentors to develop students’ knowledge and abilities in entrepreneurship. In addition, colleges and universities should actively invite successful entrepreneurs and experts to participate in entrepreneurship education and provide timely and effective guidance on students’ entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship competition.

According to the data analysis and hypotheses verified in this study, family entrepreneurial background plays a significant role in students’ social norms of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. Students from entrepreneurial families have a better understanding of entrepreneurial activities, and are more capable to achieve the expected goals of entrepreneurship education. Therefore, colleges and universities need to focus on the students with family entrepreneurship background, take these students as the core members of the learning community, and promote the spread of the influence of entrepreneurship education among other students.

There are still some limitations in this study. First, the sample size is only 400 students, all from one vocational college, which may lead to the research results can only be generalized to similar samples. It is hoped that future research could be extended to more vocational colleges, so the results could potentially be extended to the whole of China. Secondly, this study only lasted for about two months and did not monitor the change of students’ entrepreneurial intention after graduation. It is hoped that more long-term and continuous research can be carried out in the future. Finally, this study only uses the results of quantitative research, and future studies can combine qualitative and quantitative research to get richer findings.

Funding: This study received no specific financial support.  

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ Contributions: All authors contributed equally to the conception and design of the study.

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