Cultural values as determinants of entrepreneurial intentions among university students in Cape Town-South Africa

Purpose - This paper aims to determine how cultural values (language and religion) impact on entrepreneurial intentions of students at the University of Cape Town, University of Stellenbosch University of the Western Cape and Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Design/methodology/approach - This empirical study was conducted under mixed-methods approach, using survey-correlational strategy. Primary data were collected from a sample of 278 students. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data which were coded and analysed using SPSS version 22. Findings - The empirical findings reveal that the cultural variable of language influences entrepreneurial intentions among university students, while the variable of language was not found as such and this is in accordance with the literature reviewed. Research limitations/implications - This study only concerned entrepreneurship university students in Cape Town. Though these universities host students from all corners of the country, their views cannot be said to represent the opinions of all other entrepreneurship students in the whole country. Practical implications - These findings should encourage the stakeholders (learners, parents and educators) to use and practice the language that present the facilities in understanding more about entrepreneurship, such as the availability of written information. Social implications - The study can be a catalyst to some societies which do not encourage their children to speak foreign languages to become aware of the advantages those languages do offer. Originality/value - This is a unique study of its kind in Cape Town universities and presents findings that allow to know more than previously known about the topic of entrepreneurial intentions.