Exploring Entrepreneurial Intentions among Vietnamese Students in Hanoi University of Pharmacy: A Multifactorial Analysis

Background: Promoting entrepreneurship has proved itself as an essence of pharmaceutical education and the development of business activities in the pharmaceutical area. However, factors affecting the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of pharmaceutical students are very diverse, and highly dependent on local entrepreneurial environment. This study aimed at determining factors affecting on EI of students at Hanoi University of Pharmacy (HUP), Vietnam. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 1227 students of HUP in 2019. Factor analysis (EFA) and multivariate regression analysis were employed to identify factors, as well as the intensity of each factor influencing the EI of the students. The reliability of the questionnaire was tested using Cronbach’s alpha (0.728 to 0.910). Results: The findings indicated that there are four main factors influencing students’ EI explaining 57.9% of the total outcome. These factors include perceived desirability, perceived feasibility, propensity to act, and entrepreneurship education. Perceived desirability was considered as the highest impact on the learner motivation according to the regression results (beta=0.533, p<0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results obtained, the current study identified some key issues that Hanoi University of Pharmacy needs to consider for offering appropriate interventional solutions such as improving entrepreneurial courses as well as creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem to support entrepreneurial intentions of pharmacy students in Vietnam.