THE ROLE OF BUSINESS HUB IN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENT OF TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY STUDENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ECONOMICS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DUBROVNIK

Abstract

Entrepreneurship HUB is a physical space that combines all the activities necessary for the development of entrepreneurship and encourages entrepreneurs to develop their own ideas and create innovations. Collaboration, networking, co-creation of knowledge and innovation are important elements of an entrepreneurial HUB. They are just the right tool to develop ideas for budding entrepreneurs. Through entrepreneurial HUBs, students are empowered for the process of entrepreneurship. This paper analyses the entrepreneurial intentions of tourism and hotel management students at the Department of Economics and Business Economics, University of Dubrovnik. The purpose of this research for the purposes of the paper is to find out how interested the students are in entering the entrepreneurial world and what role entrepreneurial HUBs play in generating their ideas, which are primarily due to a lack of finances and ultimately general knowledge about how to start an entrepreneurial business. Entrepreneurial HUBs play an important role, especially for aspiring entrepreneurs, as they provide various types of mentoring in the form of workshops, seminars, coworking spaces, etc. The research was conducted on a sample of 51 students of Tourism and Hospitality Management in November 2022 before the lectures, so the response rate was 100%. For the research, the survey method was used by means of a questionnaire and secondary source analysis, while descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of entrepreneurial HUB in students' intentions to start an entrepreneurial business. The results show that there are some changes in risk taking among females, as 77% of them between the ages of 21 and 23 are thinking about starting their own business. Of the 38 students who were thinking about starting their own business, 32 stated that they would use the services of entrepreneur HUB. The majority of female students stated that they would use the services of entrepreneurship HUB, 65.62%. For both genders, risk is still the biggest obstacle in starting a business, as uncertainty of income and loss of invested capital are the most frequently mentioned obstacles. The services offered by HUB are very important, especially for young entrepreneurs, because according to the results for both genders, all the services listed are considered necessary or extremely necessary. The analysis of the data obtained in the research of students of tourism and hotel management shows the importance of setting up an entrepreneurial HUB, as it would help their ideas to find their way to the final consumer. It is also helpful for them given the lack of financial and technological resources to facilitate the entrepreneurial process. The results obtained show the importance and role of entrepreneurial HUB in the development of future employees and as a tool for the development of entrepreneurship in the local community.