Exploring the Predictors of Chinese College Students’ Entrepreneurial Intention

Abstract

The development and promotion of entrepreneurial behavior is an important ingredient in developing entrepreneurship ventures. This study examined the factors influencing college students’ intention to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior as the theoretical foundation the structural equation modeling technique through Smart PLS 3.0 was used to analyze the hypothesized relationship in this study. The results indicate that all the proposed research hypotheses were statistically supported. Specifically, entrepreneurial attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were all significant in determining college students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial education, and student internship motivation (SIM) were also positive and significant predictors of college students’ entrepreneurial intention. The implications of these findings on the development of entrepreneurial programs and activities that will have a positive influence and encourage students to engage in entrepreneurial activities are discussed.