Perceptions of Entrepreneurship Among Graduate Students: Challenges, Opportunities, and Cultural Biases
Manuela Andreea Petrescu, Dan Mircea Suciu
TL;DR
The paper investigates graduate students' perceptions of entrepreneurship within a digital-oriented course, using online exploratory surveys to gauge both attractiveness and startup intention. Despite broad interest in entrepreneurship, only a minority plan to start soon, with external cultural biases and gender discrimination identified as key barriers. The study combines qualitative survey analysis with thematic coding under ACM standards to reveal that women perceive greater discrimination and underrepresentation in IT entrepreneurship. Findings inform educational design and policy implications, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to address biases and strengthen entrepreneurial education in the digital economy.
Abstract
The purpose of the paper is to examine the perceptions of entrepreneurship of graduate students enrolled in a digital-oriented entrepreneurship course, focusing on the challenges and opportunities related to starting a business. In today's digital era, businesses heavily depend on tailored software solutions to facilitate their operational processes, foster expansion, and enhance their competitive edge, thus assuming, to a certain degree, the characteristics of software companies. For data gathering, we used online exploratory surveys. The findings indicated that although entrepreneurship was considered an attractive option by students, very few of them declared that they intended to start a business soon. The main issues raised by the students were internal traits and external obstacles, such as lack of resources and support. Gender discrimination and cultural biases persist, limiting opportunities and equality for women. In terms of gender, women face limited representation in leadership roles, are expected to do more unpaid 'family work', are perceived as less capable in ding business, and need to prove their skills. Even if women are less discriminated now, both genders agree that women still face discrimination in business domain. In terms of percentages, women mentioned gender discrimination in higher percentages. Addressing these issues requires awareness, education, and policy changes to ensure fair treatment and opportunities for women.