Cognitive and Technology Correlates of graduates’ entrepreneurship career choice in the Knowledge Economy.

Abstract

Economists’ prescription of structural transformation and social intervention models for graduate employment are characterised by anecdotes and Westernised views at the neglect of exploring entrepreneurial career choices and indigenous knowledges with multivariate modelling in the Ghanaian setting. Hence, the concern-based adoption model, theory of planned behaviour, and post-modernism theories support the current thesis statement that graduate entrepreneurship career choice could be significant predictors of social-cognitive and technology integration literacy in the knowledge-driven society. The concurrent mixed method design was used with randomised 709 business students from seven Ghanaian public universities. Factor analysed 107- questionnaire items showed an average Cronbach alpha of 0.9 on seven latent variables. Rural Participatory Appraisal was used with 11 discussants. One-way MANCOVA and multiple discriminant analysis in IBM SPSS were applied to four main hypotheses with thematic analysis of narratives in NVivo Version 10. Multivariate and univariate assumptions (normality, homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices, linearity, independence of predictors, multicollinearity, and outliers checks) with several supplementary findings were explored. Statistically significant differences were observed between graduates' entrepreneurship career choices and social-cognitive traits. Practically, the MANCOVA model predicted 85.2% error variances in business students’ ability to develop career self-efficacy, goal-setting, locus of control, reasonable risk-taking, and the need for achievement. Personal and institutional factors had a significant relationship with students’ entrepreneurial decision-making. Students’ critical views on their curriculum’s inability to link theory to indigenous knowledges also emerged. The study concluded that cognitive-based strategies matched with technology integration are superior models for predictor youth entrepreneurial career intentions in today’s knowledge driven society. Implications for vocational guidance, parenting, curriculum design, and strategic employee selection are discussed.