Entrepreneurial Interest of University Students in a Multicultural Society

This chapter aims to investigate the diverse attitudes, career motivations and perceived leadership skills of university students in the Netherlands and to analyse, compare and evaluate their entrepreneurial interest, inter alia on the basis of gender and ethnic differences. Since influences that affect career choice begin early in life, this chapter focuses on the next generation of entrepreneurs and on their career motivations, attitudes and self-perceptions. The data and information used for our comparative analysis are based on a survey conducted among students in the metropolitan area in the Netherlands including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. The descriptive results of our comparative evaluation show that there are gender- and ethnic-based differences in entrepreneurial interest of university students. While interest in entrepreneurship as a career is higher among immigrant boys than natives and girls and boys are more motivated by ‘external factors’ such as family and friends, prestige and also financial gain, interest in entrepreneurship as a career is lower among girls than boys and girls are more motivated by ‘internal factors’ such as using own skills and abilities. The results of our comparative evaluation show also that factors such as being own boss, flexible, independent, etc. are equally important for both boys and girls.