Entrepreneurship Culture Awareness among Graduate Students at King Saud University and Their Attitudes Toward It

(A Field Study)

Abstract

The current study aimed to examine the level of awareness of graduate students at King Saud University regarding the culture of entrepreneurship, their attitudes toward it, and to identify the major obstacles that hinder the dissemination of this culture, in addition to investigating differences in students’ responses according to gender and academic level. The study adopted the descriptive survey method as the most appropriate approach for such research topics. The study population consisted of all graduate students (male and female) enrolled at King Saud University during the second semester of the academic year 1445 AH, totaling 10,882 students, while the study sample comprised 371 students selected through a stratified random sampling technique to ensure representation of different disciplines and academic levels. The researcher developed a questionnaire consisting of 41 items distributed across three main dimensions: the reality of awareness of entrepreneurship culture, attitudes toward entrepreneurship, and obstacles to entrepreneurship as perceived by the study participants. The findings revealed that graduate students’ awareness of entrepreneurship culture was at a very high level, reflecting an advanced understanding of its importance in supporting the national economy, diversifying income sources, and creating new and sustainable job opportunities. The results also indicated that students’ attitudes toward entrepreneurship were highly positive, demonstrating a strong inclination toward entrepreneurial work, self-reliance, and innovation. Furthermore, the study showed that the obstacles to entrepreneurship, from the students’ perspective, were also rated highly and were concentrated in economic and social aspects such as lack of funding, difficulties in the establishment phase, and preference for government employment over self-employment. Finally, the results revealed no statistically significant differences in students’ responses attributable to gender or academic level, which highlights a notable consistency in perspectives across different groups.