EXPLORING THE MOTIVATIONS BEHIND PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A QUALITATIVE APPROACH

Abstract

The interest of university students in entrepreneurship has been steadily increasing; however, the underlying motives remain relatively underexplored, particularly among psychology students. This study aims to explore the factors that motivate psychology students to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected from 295 psychology students at Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) and Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) through incidental sampling. Participants were asked to respond to an open-ended questionnaire consisting of a single question designed to elicit their views and personal motivations. The qualitative data were analyzed using open coding, axial coding, and selective coding based on the Grounded Theory method, followed by categorization and frequency analysis to identify the most dominant themes. The findings revealed nine main categories of motivation: (1) economic motivation and financial security, (2) social and environmental motivations, (3) personal interest and self-development, (4) learning experiences and opportunities, (5) long-term career orientation, and (6) career escape. Among these categories, economic motivation and financial security emerged as the most dominant drivers, followed by the pursuit of work flexibility and the desire to create job opportunities. These findings suggest that entrepreneurship motivation among psychology students is influenced by a combination of financial goals, personal values, aspirations for social impact, and the search for meaning in work. Understanding these motivations may serve as a foundation for developing entrepreneurship education programs tailored to the needs and characteristics of psychology students.