Article

Perceived Government Support as

an Antecedent of Attitude and
Perceived Behavioural Control Journal of
(PBC) Effect on Agricultural Entrepreneurship and Business
E-ISSN: 2289-8298
Entrepreneurship (Agropreneurship) Vol. 8, Issue 2, pp. 95 - 105. Dec. 2020

Intention Among the Youth in

Faculty of Entrepreneurship and
Sabah Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan
Locked Bag 36, 16100 Pengkalan Chepa
Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
http://fkp.umk.edu.my/journal/index.html

Mohd Nur Fikri Waktu Saptu

Faculty of Business and Management Date Received: 5th May 2020
Date Accepted: 26th December2020
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia DOI: 10.17687/jeb.v8i2.859

Email: [email protected]

Sylvia Nabila Azwa Ambad (Corresponding

Author)
Faculty of Business and Management
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Email: [email protected]

Viduriati Sumin
Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology
Universiti Teknologi MARA
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Email: [email protected]
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
License

ABSTRACT: Agropreneurship refers to producing, processing, and selling various agricultural products.
Essentially, the Sabah Agriculture Blueprint 2021-2030 aims to attract more public involvement,
particularly among graduates in the agriculture and fisheries sector, while lessening such imported goods.
The Sabahan youth could benefit from this blueprint. Despite this significance, youth participation in the
agricultural industry remains low. Therefore, this study examined the effect of the perceived government
support on the attitude towards agropreneurship and PBC. On top of that, this study investigated the effect
of perceived government support, the attitude towards agropreneurship, PBC, and social norms (SN) on the
agropreneurship intention of Sabahan youth. In this study, 353 Sabahan youth participated in the survey.
The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) 3.2.9. The
results revealed that all hypotheses were significant, except for social norms and agropreneurship intention.
In sum, this study could contribute to formulating policies and relevant programmes, especially in
increasing youth participation in agropreneurship.

Keywords: Agropreneur; agropreneurship intention; agricultural entrepreneurship; entrepreneurial

intention; government support; Theory of Planned Behaviour

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 95

MNFW Saptu, SNA Ambad & V Sumin

1. Introduction

Agriculture was at the centre of economic development in Malaysia until the 1970s. Although the
industry has prevailed and grown, it fails to meet the country’s market demands (The Edge Malaysia,
2018). Generally, the world population is predicted to hit 9.7 billion by 2050. Due to this increase in
the human population, their access to safe, nutritious, and healthy food is challenging. Furthermore,
the market for beef, dairy products, and speciality crops, such as bananas, nuts, and vegetables has
inflated concurrently with the increased income in developed nations and better living standards
(FAO, 2017). Moreover, the increased food demand has affected natural resources, causing soil
contamination, loss of biodiversity, and environmental pollution worldwide, thus creating new
problems in food safety and agricultural sustainability (Tilman et al., 2011).
Notably, Sabah could become a hub for agricultural producers in the region due to its location and
natural resources. For instance, the East Coast province of Sabah had contributed to 25% of the
country’s export of crude palm oil. Thus, it is crucial for Sabahan youth to embrace agropreneurship
as a career. Their involvement in the industry could ensure the continuous supply of food in the future
through agricultural production and increase employment prospects for the younger generation.
Rural development in Malaysia remains a worrying issue despite the government’s intervention in
overcoming it through various poverty reduction strategies and sustainable alternative agriculture. In
fact, agriculture is no longer the dominant contributor to this country’s economic development.
Hence, the number of workers in the agriculture sector and the high rate of rural poverty have pushed
the government to prioritise agricultural development. Nonetheless, in terms of global instability, the
unpredictable commodity prices that could disrupt Malaysia’s economic growth could continue to
negate the numerous initiatives to minimise the rural and regional gains. Therefore, participation in
the agricultural sector is critical for the youth in Sabah.
The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was commonly used in past studies on entrepreneurship
intention among youth to guide the structure of the studies (Murugesan & Jayavelu, 2015). Given
the empirical evidence for the role of government support in agropreneurship intention, this study
identified how government support affects agropreneurship intention. Hence, this study is vital as it
determined the factors leading to youth participation in agropreneurship in Sabah.

2. Literature Review
2.1 The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)
The TPB was structured to predict and clarify human behaviour in a certain context. A fundamental
issue in the TPB is a person’s obligation to follow a specific action. According to Ajzen (1991), the
purpose represents the desire and commitment to seek a person in his conduct. An analyst also stated
that people’s real behaviour is understood through behavioural expectations (Ajzen, 1991). The TPB
explains that attitude towards the behaviour, SN, and PBC are the three predictors that influence
behavioural intention. Firstly, an attitude refers to how people individually learn, experience, and
evaluate, which is influenced by behaviour, pleasant or unpleasant, and reliably recognised well-
defined deeds. Secondly, SN refers to how society directly influences a person’s intention to
participate in certain behaviour over values and norms (Ajzen, 1991). The last predictor is that PBC
is the person’s capability and certainty of their ability or confidence in whether they could perform
a behaviour efficaciously.
2.2 Perceived Government Support Effect on the TPB and Agropreneurship Intention
In Malaysia, the government plays a pivotal role in fostering agropreneurship growth, where Small
and Medium Enterprises (SME) Corporation Malaysia has listed some of the government’s initiatives
to support agropreneurship, namely access to financing, human capital development, market access,
technology, innovation adoption, and infrastructure. Furthermore, the Malaysian government has
emphasised agropreneurship training to promote younger agropreneurs working independently in the

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 96

MNFW Saptu, SNA Ambad & V Sumin

agriculture industry instead of working for other organisations that add to the national food drain
(Aman, Abdul Rahim, & Din, 2015; Mohammad Nor, Nik Mohd Masdek, & Maidin, 2015).
Admittedly, agropreneurs face multiple challenges throughout their agropreneurship journey,
including cultural boundaries, inadequate funding, legislation, capital requirements, knowledge, and
an individual’s management capability to handle and exploit opportunities involving risks and
changes (Kahan, 2012). Additionally, Khoshmaram, Shiri, Shinnar, and Savari (2020) suggested the
need for government intervention by focusing on external factors to encourage entrepreneurship
participation in the agriculture sector. Agropreneurship is undeniably a demanding field, and the
readily-available government support could develop confidence and interest in the potential of
agropreneurship, especially among the Sabahan youth. Therefore, this study investigates the
effectiveness and importance of government efforts in increasing agropreneurship interest among the
youth in Sabah. Hence, the following hypotheses are postulated:
Hypothesis 1: Perceived Government support positively influences attitude towards agropreneurship.
Hypothesis 2: Perceived Government support positively influences PBC.
Hypothesis 3: Perceived Government support positively influences agropreneurship intention.

2.3 The Influence of Attitude Towards Agropreneurship Intention

Rudhumbu, Svotwa, Munyanyiwa, and Mutsau (2016) mentioned that positive attitudes over a
particular behaviour, such as entrepreneurship, significantly influence a person’s intention towards
entrepreneurship. Besides, a study by Ambad and Damit (2016) and Saptu, Ambad, and Sumin
(2020) conducted among undergraduate students in Malaysia confirmed that youth attitude towards
agropreneurship is the strongest predictor of entrepreneurship intention. Moreover, the decisive
attitude of youth towards agropreneurship, such as interest and confidence, inspires them to be
associated with agropreneurship (Yusoff et al., 2017). Overall, the individual’s positive attitude
towards entrepreneurship clearly shows that entrepreneurship is a desirable and viable option. Hence,
the following hypothesis is suggested:
Hypothesis 4: Attitude towards agropreneurship positively influences agropreneurship intention.
2.4 The Influence of PBC on Agropreneurship Intention
A study stated that PBC is an individual interpretation of the capability to perform a certain action
(Ndungu & Anyieni, 2019). People believe that their actions determine the future and are more likely
to work and achieve success and the desired goals, whereby they might start a business and keep it
going. Another study presented that youth who reported a high level of PBC have a better perception
of the viability of entrepreneurship (Yusoff et al., 2019). From the viewpoint of agropreneurship
behaviour, PBC could help establish an agro-based enterprise (Eid et al., 2019). In a similar vein,
based on the findings on TPB, the present study also considers the establishment of constructive
justification that PBC could predict agropreneurship intentions. Hence, the ensuing hypothesis is
proposed:
Hypothesis 5: PBC positively influences agropreneurship intention.
2.5 The Influence of SN on Agropreneurship Intention
Shook and Bratianu (2010) stated that the desire to pursue agropreneurship could be more likely
influenced as long as the action is encouraged by the people with a clear incentive to obey their SN.
Basically, SN is people’s views of their ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and practices, especially those close
to them with a substantial influence on their lives (Ndungu & Anyieni, 2019). The research
administered by Ng, Ahmad, and Ibrahim (2016) discovered that SN has the most robust value in
entrepreneurial intention, particularly among the youth in public universities in Malaysia. Prior
research also mentioned that the impact of SN on development intention is generally more inadequate
than the significance of attitudes (Ham, Jeger, & Ivković, 2015). Thus, the next notion issuggested:

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 97

MNFW Saptu, SNA Ambad & V Sumin

Hypothesis 6: SN positively influences agropreneurship intention.

2.6 Conceptual Framework
Figure 1 illustrates the framework of this study. Perceived government support is the antecedent of
attitudes towards agropreneurship, PBC, and agropreneurship intention.

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework

3. Methodology

3.1 Sampling and Data Collection Method

Respondents of this study are youth aged 18 to 30 years old from Sabah. This definition of youth is
based on the new amendment made to the Youth Societies and Youth Development Act
(Amendment) Bill 2019. The respondents were selected based on the eligibility criteria established
to select the samples in this study. Since there is no sampling frame available for the number of
Sabahan youth aged 18 to 30 years old, the sample size was calculated based on the G*Power
minimum sample size of 129 respondents (4 tested predictors and f 2 = 0.15). Additionally, Roscoe
(1975) provided the rule of thumb for the sample size calculation, wherein for some experiments, the
sample size is considered greater than 30 and smaller than 500. In contrast, a range of data between
5 and 10 times the number of items in use (Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010) was suggested by
various statistical experts. Considering the recommendation by Black et al. (2010), it is advisable to
have ten times the number of items or the sample size of the instrument. Therefore, the sample size
of this study is 270 samples (27 items × 10) based on the 10 times rule of thumb. However, this study
distributed 500 questionnaires face-to-face and online.

In this study, convenience sampling was used as the sampling technique, which refers to collecting
information from samples which are available to provide the related data. Convenience sampling
could be the best method to quickly and efficiently obtain information (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016).
The self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data in-person, while electronic
questionnaires were sent to the youth population in several colleges and universities in Sabah.
Meanwhile, the data collection was conducted in March 2020 and the information obtained was
analysed using the statistical Smart-PLS 3.2.9 software.

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 98

MNFW Saptu, SNA Ambad & V Sumin

3.2 Measurement

The measurements used in this study were adapted and modified from previous research. Regarding
the perceived government support, the scales developed by Malebana (2014) were used. Meanwhile,
the attitude towards agropreneurship employed six items adapted and modified from Liñán and Chen
(2009). For the second measurement, the PBC was measured using six adapted and modified items
from Kolvereid (1996). Concurrently, the independent variable, i.e., SN, was measured using four
items suggested by Autio, Keeley, Klofsten, Parker, and Hay (2001). On the other hand, the
dependent variable applied the six adapted and modified items developed by Thompson (2009).
Finally, a 5-point Likert scale was used to reflect the respondents’ answers.

4. Result and Discussion

4.1 Respondent Profile

In this study, 500 questionnaires were distributed to the Sabahan youth, where the remaining samples
consisted of 353 respondents (177 males and 176 females) after removing the questionnaires with
incomplete and irrelevant answers. Many of the respondents were aged 18 to 20 years old (184),
demonstrating a valid percentage of 52.9%. In terms of the respondents’ educational level, the data
showed that the majority of the respondents, 53.3% (188), were Diploma holders, exceeding those
with SPM/STPM/Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) qualification which made for % (97) of the
respondents.

4.2 Reliability and Validity of Measurement

During the PLS-SEM, the first stage involved performing the measurement assessment to ensure that
all variables’ validity and reliability were satisfactory before hypothesis testing. As shown in Table
1, only one item from PBC was removed due to low loading (less than 0.7), as per Chin (1998). After
the item was removed, all internal consistency and convergent validity were found to be satisfactory.
Each construct had achieved the composite reliability coefficients above the recommended cut-off
of 0.7 (see Table 1). Therefore, the items within each variable have shown high internal consistency
and high reconstruction of the findings proposed by Fornell and Larcker (1981).

Average
Variance
Composite Extracted
Variables and Items Loading Reliability (AVE)
Agropreneurship Intention (AI) 0.945 0.742
I intend to start my own agropreneurship
business in the future. 0.837
I am constantly looking for agropreneurship
opportunities. 0.837
I start saving to have my own agropreneurship
business. 0.856
I read books on procedures for initiating
agropreneurship business. 0.833
I make plans to start my own agropreneurship
business. 0.914
I dedicate time to learn how to create an
agropreneurship business. 0.890
Perceived Government Support
I know the different types of support offered
to people who want to start new
agropreneurship businesses. 0.779 0.779 0.779

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 99

MNFW Saptu, SNA Ambad & V Sumin

Information about government support is

accessible. 0.800
My level of knowledge about the types of
support offered to people who want to start an
agropreneurship business is high. 0.780
The government provides adequate support to
start an agropreneurship business. 0.811
The government provides quality support to
start an agropreneurship business. 0.788
Attitude 0.919 0.653
In my opinion, being an agropreneur has more
advantages than disadvantages for me. 0.726
I would like to make a career as an
agropreneur. 0.827
If I had the opportunity, I would start my own
agropreneurship business. 0.848
If I had the resources, I would start my own
agropreneurship business. 0.785
In my opinion, being an agropreneur gives me
great satisfaction. 0.842
Among several options, I would rather choose
to become an agropreneur as a career. 0.815
PBC 0.864 0.614
If I wanted, I could easily become an
agropreneur. 0.791
In my opinion, by becoming an agropreneur, I
would have sufficient control over my
business. 0.797
There are very few circumstances outside my
control that could prevent me from becoming
an agropreneur. 0.795
If I become self-employed in the agriculture
sector, the chances of success would be very
high. 0.751
If I pursue a career as a self-employed in the
agriculture sector, the chances of failure
would be very low. 0.791
SN 0.924 0.752
If I become an agropreneur, my family would
consider it to be a good career. 0.833
If I become an agropreneur, my close friends
would consider it to be excellent. 0.884
If I become an agropreneur, my colleagues
would consider it to be marvellous. 0.898
If I become an agropreneur, other people close
to me would consider it to be wonderful. 0.852

4.3 Discriminant Validity

This study performed the discriminant validity of Fornell and Larcker Criterion, Cross Loadings, and
Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio of Correlations (HTMT). In view of this study, it was demonstrated that
Fornell and Larcker’s criterion was adequate. Besides, the cross-loading indicates that discriminant
validity was achieved, as the constructs were distinctly different from each other. The results in Table
2 shows that HTMT values fulfilled the recommendations by Henseler et al. (2015), which were not
more than 0.90. Hence, demonstrating evidence of the discriminant validity indicates the degree to
which one construct differs from the other.

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 100

MNFW Saptu, SNA Ambad & V Sumin

AI ATT GS PBC SN
AI
ATT 0.618
GS 0.702 0.582
PBC 0.696 0.686 0.653
SN 0.723 0.585 0.506 0.651

Results of Hypotheses Testing

The second stage in the PLS-SEM is assessing the structural model or hypotheses testing.
The hypotheses in this study were tested using the bootstrap resampling technique with an
iteration of 5,000 sub-samples. As shown in Table 3, H1, H2, H3, H4, and H5 were
supported. Only H6 was found to be not significant and not supported. Next, the effect size
of the independent variables was assessed to determine their effect on agropreneurship
intention. As suggested by Cohen (1988), the effect size (ƒ2) values of above 0.02, 0.15, and
0.35 represent small, medium, and large effects

Relationshi Path Standard T- ULCI Supported ƒ2 R2 Q2

p Coefficient Deviation Value LLCI (95%
(STDEV) (5%) )
H1: GS -> 0.291 0.187
Attitude 0.546 0.059 7.227 0.344 0.541 Yes 0.415
H2: GS -> 0.487 0.355
PBC 0.569 0.042 15.97 0.531 0.656 Yes 0.473
H3: GS -> 0.319 0.194
AI 0.175 0.059 2.941 0.072 0.270 Yes 0.035
H4:
Attitude ->
AI 0.44 0.061 7.227 0.344 0.541 Yes 0.186
H5: PBC -
> AI 0.216 0.056 3.888 0.186 0.186 Yes 0.051
H6: SN -> -
AI -0.029 0.061 0.484 0.131 0.070 No 0.001

This study has successfully achieved its research objective of examining the effect of
perceived government support on the TPB and agropreneurship intention among the youth
in Sabah. The government should give the agriculture sector more attention to increase food
security and ensure sufficient and nutritious food availability in Malaysia. Generally, Sabah
is considered one of the poorest states in Malaysia. Low youth participation in
agropreneurship could create a bigger unemployment crisis and reduce food production due
to low agricultural activities (Swarts & Aliber, 2013). It was found that attitude towards
agropreneurship and PBC is influenced by perceived government support. In addition,
perceived government support is positively related to agropreneurship intention. It should
be noted that only SN was discovered to have no relationship with agropreneurship intention.
In sum, the government should continuously improve the types of support system that are
more relevant to the youth.

5. Contribution and Implication of The Study

The present study offers valuable theoretical, practical, and technical limitations. Besides,
its many contributions would benefit other researchers, educators, and policymakers. The
subsequent parts address in considerable detail the results and consequences of this study.

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 101

MNFW Saptu, SNA Ambad & V Sumin

This study attempted to fill the literature gap by expanding the analysis of TPB to determine
the factors influencing agropreneurship intention. Thus, this study expanded the TPB’s
scope and connected it with entrepreneurship literature, specifically in the field of
agropreneurship. This research also focused on perceived government support as an
antecedent of TPB. This inclusion is timely since the government had been allocating a
substantial budget for the development of existing entrepreneurs and attracting more
graduates and youths to delve into entrepreneurship. This study’s remarkable findings
revealed that the youths’ perceived government support on entrepreneurship activities has a
large and strong effect on PBC (f2 = 0.473) and attitude towards agropreneurship (f2 =
0.415) (Cohen, 1988). Currently, the youths’ involvement in agropreneurship is quite
limited, as they consider the agricultural sector a field solely for those without a better future
and the elderly. The findings of this study contribute to further knowledge and information
concerning youth and agropreneurship in Sabah. Thus, assisting the government and
policymakers in formulating policies and programmes could fulfil the recently launched
Sabah Agriculture Blueprint. The government and policymakers could intervene by
organising more activities and programmes involving youth and selected agropreneurs as
motivators, especially successful agropreneurs in Sabah. This initiative could also provide a
broad business network and a support system for young agropreneurs. Also, the government
should ensure the availability of funding or financial assistance to establish agropreneurship
among the youth in Sabah. On top of that, a better understanding and dissemination of
information on numerous government incentives regarding agropreneurship is crucial to
boost the youths’ perception of the availability of government support. Consequently, this
aspect could further strengthen agropreneurship intentions, particularly among Sabahan
youths.

6. Limitation and Future Research Suggestions

It should be noted that the present study applied the self-administered questionnaire method
in its data collection, which tends to produce unfavourable practices. Although the best
efforts were undertaken to deal with the implementation of point of view preference, it does
not guarantee the findings of the study. Thus, the outcomes of this study should be
scrutinised, as there is a possibility of distortion. Despite the appropriate precautions taken
to minimise and regulate any distortion, survey polling is admittedly difficult (MacKenzie
& Podsakoff, 2012). As a result, the standard interpretation of bias was not adequately and
entirely resolved in this analysis. In terms of limitation, this study focused solely on the
youth in Sabah, Malaysia. Future research should consider collecting data from all the states
in Malaysia. Additionally, this study solely used TPB in its model. Future studies should
consider integrating more theories, such as Shapero’s Entrepreneurial Event theory, John
Holland’s Theory of Career Choice, Social Cognitive Theory, and others. The integration of
these theories could contribute to a more robust and holistic understanding of
agropreneurship intention.

.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding
This work is supported by the FRGS-RACER grant (Ref: RACER/1/2019/SS03/UITM//3), Ministry
of Higher Education, Malaysia

Acknowledgement

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 102

MNFW Saptu, SNA Ambad & V Sumin

The researcher would like to thank Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia for funded this study
under FRGS-RACER grant.

References

Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes, 50(2), 179-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-t
Aman, Z., Abdul Rahim, A. R., & Din, A. K. (2015). Generation Y perceptions of employment in
the plantation sector. International Journal of Recent Advances in Organizational Behaviour
and Decision Sciences, 1(4), 605-616.
Ambad, S. N., & Damit, D. H. (2016). Determinants of entrepreneurial intention among
undergraduate students in Malaysia. Procedia Economics and Finance, 37, 108-114.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s2212-5671(16)30100-9
Autio, E., H. Keeley, R., Klofsten, M., G. C. Parker, G., & Hay, M. (2001). Entrepreneurial intent
among students in Scandinavia and in the USA. Enterprise and Innovation Management
Studies, 2(2), 145-160. https://doi.org/10.1080/14632440110094632
Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. In G.
A.Marcoulides (Ed.), Modern methods for business research (pp. 295–358). Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
FAO (2017). The Future of Food and Agriculture – Trends and Challenges. Rome: Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available online at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-
i6583e.pdf
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Structural equation models with unobservable variables and
measurement error: Algebra and statistics. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(3), 382.
https://doi.org/10.2307/3150980
Ham, M., Jeger, M., & Frajman Ivković, A. (2015). The role of subjective norms in forming the
intention to purchase green food. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 28(1), 738-
748. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677x.2015.1083875
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., and Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant
validity in variance-based structural equation modelling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Kahan, D. (2012). Entrepreneurship in farming. Rome, Italy: Food and Agricultural Organization of
United Nations Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/uploads/media/5-
EntrepreneurshipInternLores.pdf.
Khoshmaram, M., Shiri, N., Shinnar, R. S., & Savari, M. (2020). Environmental support and
entrepreneurial behavior among Iranian farmers: The mediating roles of social and human
capital. Journal of Small Business Management, 1-25.
Kolvereid, L. (1996). Prediction of employment status choice intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory
& Practice, 21(1), 47-56. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225879602100104
Liñán, F., and Chen, Y. W. (2009). Development and cross‐cultural application of a specific
instrument to measure entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, 33(3),
593-617. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2009.00318.x
Malebana, M. (2014). The effect of knowledge of entrepreneurial support on entrepreneurial
intention. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(20), 1020-1028.
Mohammad Nor, N. A. A., Nik Mohd Masdek, N. R., & Maidin, M. K. H. (2015). Youth inclination
towards agricultural entrepreneurship. Economic and Technology Management Review, 10a,
47-55.
Murugesan, R., & Jayavelu, R. (2015). Testing the impact of entrepreneurship education on business,
engineering and arts and science students using the theory of planned behaviour: A
comparative study. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 7(3), 256-275.
Ndungu, J. W., & Anyieni, A. (2019). Attitude of the youth towards entrepreneurship: A case of
Nakuru County. International Academic Journal of Innovation, Leadership and
Entrepreneurship, 2(2), 211-226.

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 103

MNFW Saptu, SNA Ambad & V Sumin

Ng, K. S., Ahmad, A. R., & Ibrahim, N. N. (2016). Theory of planned behavior: undergraduates‘
entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurship career intention at a public university. Journal
of Entrepreneurship: Research & Practice, 2016.
Rudhumbu, N., Svotwa, D., Munyanyiwa, T., & Mutsau, M. (2016). Attitudes of students towards
entrepreneurship education at two selected higher education institutions in Botswana: A
critical analysis and reflection. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 5(2), 83-83.
Saptu, M. N. F. W., Ambad, S. N. A., & Sumin, V. (2020). The Effect of Planned Behaviour Theory
on Agropreneurship Intention: The Moderating Role of Gender. Social and Management
Research Journal, 17(2), 213-240.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. Research Methods for Business. (2016). A Skill Building Approach. UK:
John Wiley and Sons.
Shook, C. L., & Bratianu, C. (2010). Entrepreneurial intent in a transitional economy: an application
of the theory of planned behavior to Romanian students. International Entrepreneurship and
Management Journal, 6(3), 231-247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-008-0091-2
SMECorp, (January 30, 2019). Government spent RM2.3 bil on women entrepreneurs in 2018.
Retrieved on 29 January 2019, from https://www.smeinfo.com.my/my/berita-menu/item/371-
government-spent-rm2-3-bln-on-women-entrepreneurs-in-2018.
Swarts, M. B., & Aliber, M. (2013). The ‘youth and agriculture’ problem: Implications for rangeland
development. African Journal of Range & Forage Science, 30(1-2), 23-27.
https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2013.778902
Tilman, D., Balzer, C., Hill, J., and Befort, B. L. (2011). Global food demand and the sustainable
intensification of agriculture. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108:20260. doi:
10.1073/pnas.1116437108
Nordin, K. A., (2018) ‘Agriculture: Addressing food security in Malaysia’. The Edge Malaysia. 14th
October 2018. Available at https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/agriculture-addressing-
food-security-malaysia.
Thompson, E. R. (2009). Individual entrepreneurial intent: Construct clarification and development
of an internationally reliable metric. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(3), 669-694.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2009.00321.x
Yusoff, A., Ahmad, N. H., and Halim, H. A. (2017, April). A Longitudinal Study Measuring
Agropreneurship Behaviours Using Entrepreneurial Ladder Concept. In 5th International
Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship ICIE 2017, 207.
Yusoff, A., Ahmad, N. H., and Halim, H. A. (2019). Unravelling agropreneurship activities among
Malaysian Gen Y. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. 25(3), 457-
479. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijebr-07-2017-0213

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 104

MNFW Saptu, SNA Ambad & V Sumin

Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business 105