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Top1. Introduction
Entrepreneurial innovations are produced through the introduction of new products and production processes in emerging markets (Acs and Audretsch, 2003). Different from other business professionals, entrepreneurs drive success by creating new ventures (Busenitz and Barney, 1997). Thus, entrepreneurship is widely recognized as a key driver of economic growth, wealth, and prosperity (Urbano et al., 2019). An increase in entrepreneurial activity can rejuvenate a sluggish economy, significantly rising national competitiveness (Van Stel and van Stel, 2005; Carree and Thurik, 2003). Consequently, the relationship between entrepreneurship and unemployment has obtained varied viewpoints and connections (Johansen et al., 2012; Audretsch et al., 2005). In the perspective of occupational choice theory, high unemployment rates lead to an increase in startup activities (van Stel and van der Zwan, 2019; Fonseca, Michaud, and Sopraseuth, 2006).
According to Chienwattanasook and Jermsittiparsert (2019), the overall unemployment rate in Thailand increases annually. Thailand is an emerging market and a low-income country (Wannamakok and Chang, 2020), which exacerbate unemployment, thereby ultimately affecting new Thai graduates. Notably, Small and medium enterprises constitute a major portion of economic activities in Thailand, providing millions of jobs from all enterprises combined (The Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion, 2015). However, according to the National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office (2017), Thailand suffers from a lack of quality startups. Despite continued support and education from the government, private sectors, and universities, startups still lack adequate business and technology knowledge.
Recent studies have focused on lean startup and the creation of new ventures, with hopes of boosting economic development. According to Paço et al., (2016), the relevance of business model design overlaps with business plan conception in which the lean startup approach can contribute. This approach comprises a methodology that focuses on agile testing and learning cycles to validate business ideas and hypotheses (Eisenmann et al., 2012). In this sense, lean startups can be included in the curriculum offered in higher education institutions as a means to develop entrepreneurship education programs for university students (Harms, 2015). Therefore, lean startup pedagogically facilitates new venture creation through the construction and testing of assumptions. However, existing empirical studies on the opinions of young adults on entrepreneurship are scarce (Henderson and Robertson, 2000). Such studies have perceived various individuals’ intentions through the lens of intentionality perspective. Numerous scholars have argued that the intention to become an entrepreneur also depends on perceived desirability and feasibility, which can be an important trigger for understanding entrepreneurial behavior (Steel and König, 2006; Venkataraman and Sarasvathy, 2001; Ajzen, 1991). Likewise, Heilbrunn et al., (2017) have observed that individuals who have positive expectations of a start-up business are likely to consider entrepreneurship as a desirable and feasible career choice.
This study proffers an insight into university students’ perceptions of lean startup through entrepreneurial classes and entrepreneurial intentions. This is consistent with Harms (2015) suggestion that entrepreneurship education is highly dependent on didactics, which motivates students to desire cognitively to be entrepreneurs through lean startup based classes. Notwithstanding, studies that measure lean startup awareness on entrepreneurial intention are scarce (Ekpe et al., 2018). As such, the present study could provide novel research findings on the relationship between lean startup perception and entrepreneurial intention through the mediating effect of perceived feasibility and desirability. In particular, this study adopts a unique sample from Thailand to reconcile the inconsistency found in the existing literature by exploring how final-year university students in Thailand perceive desirability, feasibility, and lean startup in relation to their choice of entrepreneurship as a future career (Ali, Shah, and Anwar, 2019).
In summary, the decision to become self-employed hinges on various factors, including unemployment after graduation, inability to acquire a high-earning job, job satisfaction, personality traits, and independence. Therefore, becoming a nascent entrepreneur has been viewed as a panacea (Ungerman et al., 2018). In line with this idea, encouraging individuals’ intention to become entrepreneurs may be crucial for the economy.