Entrepreneurial Intentions Among University Students: Evidence From A Primary Survey On Innovation Orientation, Digital Skills And Institutional Support
Abstract
Purpose: To examine innovation orientation, digital skills and institutional assist influence entrepreneurial intent. It responds to need for direct student level evidence on entrepreneurial intention in digitally enabled university environments instead of relying only on conceptual arguments or findings reported in prior studies.
Methodology/approach: Quantitative cross-sectional survey approach was adopted. Empirical model was tested on a cleaned sample of 412 university students using a questionnaire which was structured with five-point Likert-scale items. “Analysis included data visualization, common method bias diagnostics, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability and validity testing, correlation analysis, structural equation modelling (SEM), mediation analysis, moderation analysis and robustness checks”.
Findings: The results show that innovation orientation, digital skills and institutional support positively influence entrepreneurial intention. Entrepreneurial attitude transmits the effect of innovation orientation on entrepreneurial intention, while perceived entrepreneurial capability mediates effect of digital skills on entrepreneurial intent. Innovation orientation and entrepreneurial intent, as well as association between digital skills and entrepreneurial intent are strengthened by institutional support. Final structural model accounts for 64.1% of variance in entrepreneurial intent.
Originality/value: The paper contributes a survey-tested model that integrates motivation, digital capability and institutional support in a single empirical framework. It extends intention-based entrepreneurship research by showing that student entrepreneurial intention is not only a motivational outcome but also a capability- and support-dependent process. These results provide colleges with useful advice on how to convert student creativity and digital readiness into stronger entrepreneurial intention.
