Understanding College Students’ Entrepreneurial Intention: A Case Study of Shanxi University of Finance and Economics
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Abstract
Purpose: This study investigates key factors influencing college students' entrepreneurial intentions, proposing a model where entrepreneurship education (EE), need for achievement (NA), perceived behavioral control (PBC), entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), and emotional competence (EC) predict entrepreneurial intention (EI). It further evaluates an intervention design implementation (IDI) aimed at enhancing these intentions. Research design, data and methodology: Adopting a quantitative approach, the study validated its instrument using the Item-Objective Consistency Index (IOC) and Cronbach’s alpha (n=40). Multiple linear regression was conducted on 200 valid responses from students at Shanxi University of Finance and Economics to test the hypothesized relationships. Subsequently, a 16-week IDI was carried out with 40 participants, and pre- and post-IDI outcomes were analyzed using paired-sample t-tests. Results: All five factors significantly influenced EI, with PBC having the strongest effect, followed by EC, NA, ESE, and EE. Post-IDI analysis showed significant improvements in all constructs. The greatest increase was in EI (+0.58), followed by ESE (+0.45), EE (+0.44), PBC (+0.42), NA (+0.41), and EC (+0.33). Conclusions: The IDI approach effectively enhanced students' entrepreneurial mindsets. Educational programs should incorporate targeted interventions to strengthen self-efficacy, emotional skills, and perceived control to foster entrepreneurship.
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