Intrinsic Barriers to Entrepreneurship: Investigating the Impact of University Student Perception on Entrepreneurial Intentions

Being considered a driving engine, entrepreneurship is essential for a country's economy. Therefore, this paper investigates students' perceptions of intrinsic barriers to entrepreneurship in Faisalabad, Pakistan. 300 graduate and postgraduate students from ten educational institutions were targeted. Interviews were used to collect data, which were organized using statistical techniques. Most of the total students were registered in non-business subjects while one-third studied business education. Less than a third belonged to business families, but many students were still familiar with business. Finance, lack of infrastructure, fear of failure, lack of any guidance, corruption, registration process, attitude of governments against entrepreneurs, less available market information and possession in their families were among the most important internal barriers. Multiple linear regression indicated that the factors that influenced students' perceptions of entrepreneurial barriers were gender, type of education, income, and family occupation. Such insights are used to formulate relevant policies to enhance entrepreneurship and remove barriers to economic growth.