Volume-12, Issue-2 (July-December)
2025
Pages: 289-297
Open Access
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18068354
CONSTRAINTS ON CAMPUS ENTREPRENEURSHIP: IDENTIFYING BARRIERS TO STUDENT START-UPS IN PUNJAB
Kiranjeet Kaur & Navdeep Kaur
India
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background: Entrepreneurship has emerged as a vital driver of innovation, employment generation, and regional economic development, with universities increasingly expected to act as catalysts for nurturing student start-ups. Despite growing institutional initiatives in Punjab, many students continue to encounter constraints that limit their participation in entrepreneurial activities, indicating a gap between policy intent and on-ground realities.
Aim/Objectives: The study aims to identify and analyze the key barriers preventing students from pursuing entrepreneurship and launching start-ups in Punjab, with a specific focus on financial, institutional, psychological, and socio-cultural constraints operating within campus environments.
Methodology: A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was adopted. Primary data were collected from 385 students across selected universities in Punjab using a structured and validated questionnaire. The responses were measured on a five-point Likert scale and analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis with the help of SPSS.
Results: The findings reveal that lack of financial resources, fear of failure, academic pressure, bureaucratic institutional procedures, and family or societal expectations are the most significant barriers to student entrepreneurship. The analysis further shows a strong and statistically significant negative relationship between perceived barriers and students’
entrepreneurial intentions.
Conclusion: The study concludes that addressing barriers to campus entrepreneurship requires more than infrastructural support; it necessitates targeted financial assistance, administrative flexibility, mentorship, and socio-cultural sensitization. Reducing these constraints is essential for enabling universities in Punjab to create a more supportive environment for student start-ups and to strengthen the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Keywords: Campus entrepreneurship; Student start-ups; Entrepreneurial barriers; Higher education; Punjab
Background: Entrepreneurship has emerged as a vital driver of innovation, employment generation, and regional economic development, with universities increasingly expected to act as catalysts for nurturing student start-ups. Despite growing institutional initiatives in Punjab, many students continue to encounter constraints that limit their participation in entrepreneurial activities, indicating a gap between policy intent and on-ground realities.
Aim/Objectives: The study aims to identify and analyze the key barriers preventing students from pursuing entrepreneurship and launching start-ups in Punjab, with a specific focus on financial, institutional, psychological, and socio-cultural constraints operating within campus environments.
Methodology: A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was adopted. Primary data were collected from 385 students across selected universities in Punjab using a structured and validated questionnaire. The responses were measured on a five-point Likert scale and analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis with the help of SPSS.
Results: The findings reveal that lack of financial resources, fear of failure, academic pressure, bureaucratic institutional procedures, and family or societal expectations are the most significant barriers to student entrepreneurship. The analysis further shows a strong and statistically significant negative relationship between perceived barriers and students’
entrepreneurial intentions.
Conclusion: The study concludes that addressing barriers to campus entrepreneurship requires more than infrastructural support; it necessitates targeted financial assistance, administrative flexibility, mentorship, and socio-cultural sensitization. Reducing these constraints is essential for enabling universities in Punjab to create a more supportive environment for student start-ups and to strengthen the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Keywords: Campus entrepreneurship; Student start-ups; Entrepreneurial barriers; Higher education; Punjab