INCLINATION TOWARDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: REASONING ABOUT CAUSAL RELATIONSHIPS

Abstract

Youth entrepreneurship has been growing in recent years, but only some studies investigate the influence of personality traits on youth entrepreneurship intention. In parallel, there is a call for more research investigating the role of cognitive structure, perceived university support, and the need for achievement towards entrepreneurship intention. Entrepreneurial cognition has become one of the essential components to hone students' entrepreneurial talents. Exposure to entrepreneurship knowledge in theory alone is only sufficient without putting it into practice. Therefore, higher learning institutions are responsible for producing more capable entrepreneurship students. Therefore, this article aims to understand how the need for achievement could mediate the relationship between cognitive structure, perceived university support, and entrepreneurship intention. This study is based on a cross‐sectional online survey design. The final data of 248 youths were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The present study proves that the need for achievement mediates the relationship between cognitive structure, perceived university support, and entrepreneurship intention. Thus, a high-achieving individual is more inclined to become an entrepreneur. As a theoretical contribution to the development of youth entrepreneurship, this article analyses the causal path relationship relationships between cognitive structure, perceived university support, need for achievement, and entrepreneurship intention, which have been explored little in the literature. On a practical level, it offers insights into potential strategies for improving training and programs to boost individual characteristics, confidence, competencies, and knowledge in entrepreneurship activities.