Abstract:

The paper´s objective is to analyse Locus of Control (LoC) of university students in connection with their psychological and entrepreneurial competences and subsequently to identify factors which influence this personality trait. The standardized IPC scale tool (Levenson, 1981), containing three components: Internality (I), Powerful Others (P) and Chance control (C) scales, was used as a research technique. The 24-item questionnaire was gradually filled in from March to June, 2019 by a total of 277 students of The Institute of Technology and Business (ITB) in České Budějovice (South Bohemian Region) in both full-time and part-time forms of study (at the age of 19 to 54), with m = 27 years, gender-balanced group (48% : 52%) studying various fields of study: Mechanical Engineering, Logistics, Economics and Civil Engineering. These variables were simultaneously statistically tested for LoC. The results showed that there was a statistically substantial relationship (p = 0,000) in the areas of Internality and Powerful Others regarding gender, but the Chance control was not affected by the gender (t-test). Considering the age, no relevant relationship (ANOVA) was noted within the IPC dimensions, but a significant relationship was reported for the P dimension (p = 0,009; ANOVA). The students were dominant in the I dimension (m = 10,24), yet least dominant in the C dimension (m = -0,67). This case study composed within the framework of an internal grant project will be further followed by other studies using different methods to analyse the already obtained data.

Keywords:

Psychological and entrepreneurial competences, Locus of Control, Internality (I), Powerful Others (P) and Chance control (C) scales, university students.