Entrepreneurial potential for Italian undergraduates

Choosing to be an entrepreneur can be an opportunity for young especially since they have difficulties in finding jobs. To detect the knowledge, the attitude, and the aptitude towards the entrepreneurial job; To understand the variables that are related with the entrepreneurial choice in young male and female. The instrument is a questionnaire (50 multiple-choices items / Cronbachs Alpha .849) that analyses: personal data; entrepreneurial network of acquaintances; image of future job; ideas about male and female entrepreneurs; information about bureaucracy and investments in creating enterprises; entrepreneurial aptitude; attitude toward entrepreneurship. 560 Italian humanities students were involved. The difficulties described in enterprise creation are: economic aspects, bureaucracy, partners/co-workers, and getting credit from banks. The image of the profile of male entrepreneurs is characterized by leadership and perseverance; while females show perseverance and a strong spirit of sacrifice. Students have little knowledge about start-up processes. Attitudes toward entrepreneurship/self-employment are characterized by the choice of the adjectives: wonderful, prestigious, active, energetic, satisfying, interesting, suitable, various and flexible. Networking is an important variable that has a positive and significant effect on the others: people with a family/social network with entrepreneurs have access to a lot of information; they have a more positive image of an entrepreneurial job; and they think about it, try and are able to be self-employed more than others. We consider this research a step that help to identify a model that integrates elements of the entrepreneurial project: gender, attitudes, aptitudes, networking, information, and social support.