Trust in lecturer–student relationships as a factor supporting entrepreneurship

Purpose This paper aims to identify trust’s role in the student–lecturer relationship and to identify the factors that build trust in this relationship, as well as the mechanisms through which trust influences entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the results of empirical research based on a semi-structured interview questionnaire. The participants included 12 entrepreneurs, 25–40 years old, who were running their own small enterprises. They were categorised by industry. Findings This study’s results suggest that entrepreneurship education based on trust in student–lecturer relationships contributes to the formation of entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours. This study has identified the factors that build trust between students and lecturers. Three mechanisms were also identified as having the greatest impact on transforming entrepreneurial intentions into actions: increasing self-efficacy, cultivating a broader perspective and encouraging initiative and risk taking. Research limitations/implications An obvious limitation of this research is its small sample size. Moreover, this study’s respondents were all entrepreneurs running small companies – mainly start-ups – with up to 50 employees established by entrepreneurs up to four years after graduation. Additionally, the majority of the sample were men of Indian nationality. In subsequent studies, including more diverse respondents would be useful. Moreover, a quantitative survey of a larger sample with greater gender and cultural diversity would be worthwhile to test the proposed model. Practical implications This paper helps explain the trust’s importance in the student–lecturer relationship. This paper reveals how relationships should be established to support entrepreneurial learning outcomes. Originality/value The results of this research expand the knowledge on trust-building between students and lecturers that can develop successful entrepreneurial attitudes amongst students and help students succeed as entrepreneurs. To the authors’ knowledge, no previous research had examined this topic. This study’s results are probably more universally relevant than our limited sample suggests, so further in-depth research is needed.