Drivers of Entrepreneurial Intentions Among Technical graduates- A mediation-moderation model

Authors

  • Hemlata Gaikwad Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, Maharashtra
  • Suruchi Pandey Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) , Pune, Maharashtra

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.16920/jeet/2026/v39is3/26097

Keywords:

Entrepreneurial intentions, Entrepreneurial Behaviour, Personal Attitude, Perceived Behavioural Control, Technical Graduates

Abstract

This study intended to identify the factors influencing the entrepreneurial career choice of technical graduates studying in various districts of Maharashtra, India. The literature revealed that most of the graduates preferred a stable career obtained through placements rather than opting for entrepreneurship, despite it being focussed at their respective institutes having incubation centres as well.The study was quantitative in nature. We used structural equation modelling to identify the influence of various factors on entrepreneurial intentions and behaviour. The results reported interesting findings.with personal attitude and perceived behavioural control having a great influence on th entrepreneurial intentions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2026-02-28

How to Cite

Gaikwad, H., & Pandey, S. (2026). Drivers of Entrepreneurial Intentions Among Technical graduates- A mediation-moderation model. Journal of Engineering Education Transformations, 39(3), 49–59. https://doi.org/10.16920/jeet/2026/v39is3/26097

References

Aldrich, H., & Yang, T. (2012). Lost in translation: Cultural codes are not blueprints. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 6, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/sej.1125

Al-Jubari, I., Hassan, A., & Liñán, F. (2019). Entrepreneurial intention among university students in Malaysia: Integrating self-determination theory and the theory of planned behavior. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 15, 1323–1342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-0180529-0

Alshebami, A., Al-Jubari, I., Alyoussef, I., & Raza, M. (2020). Entrepreneurial education as a predicator of community college of Abqaiq students’ entrepreneurial intention. 10, 3605–3612. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2020.6.033

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W H Freeman/Times Books/ Henry Holt & Co.

Bhandari, D. R., & Subedi, D. P. (2024). Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurial Intention among Nepali Business Students: The Mediating Role of Saving Behavior. Pravaha, 30(1), 132–142. https://doi.org/10.3126/PRAVAHA.

V30I1.76900 Cutinha, M. H., & Panakaje, N. (2024). Role of Incubators and Accelerators in Enhancing Entrepreneurship in India. Studies in Big Data, 163, 273–280.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-03173632-2_23

D’Armas Regnault, M., Fajardo Vaca, L., Mejías-Acosta, A., Noboa Romero, P., Álvarez Baque, W., & VidalSilva, C. (2024). Understanding the entrepreneurial capacity of university students: an empirical study at Milagro State University, Ecuador. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1491468.https://doi.org/10.3389/FEDUC.202 4.1491468/BIBTEX

Fan, J., Hu, J., & Wang, J. (2024). How entrepreneurship education affects college students’ entrepreneurial intention: Samples from China. Heliyon, 10(10), e30776. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.101 6/j.heliyon.2024.e30776

Fiseha, G., & Oyelana, A. (2015). An Assessment of the Roles of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Local Economic Development (LED) in South Africa. Journal of Economics, 6, 280–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/09765239.20 15.11917617

Furnham, A., & Marks, J. (2013). Tolerance of Ambiguity: A Review of the Recent Literature. Psychology , 04 (09) Pp. 717-728. (2013) , 04(09), 717–728. https://doi.org/10.4236/PSYCH.201 3.49102

Hahn, D., Minola, T., Bosio, G., & Cassia, L. (2020). The impact of entrepreneurship education on university students’ entrepreneurial skills: a family embeddedness perspective. Small Business Economics, 55(1), 257–282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-01900143-y

Hassan, A., Anwar, I., Saleem, I., Islam, K.M. B., & Hussain, S. A. (2021). Individual entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention: The mediating role of entrepreneurial motivations. Industry and Higher Education, 35(4), 403–418. https://doi.org/10.1177/09504222211007051;SUBPAGE:STRING:ABS TRACT;ISSUE:ISSUE:DOI

Hongyun, T., Akhtar, S., Qureshi, N., & Iqbal, S. (2022). Predictors of entrepreneurial intentions: The role of prior business experience, opportunity recognition, and entrepreneurial education. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.8 82159

Karimi, S., Biemans, H. J. A., Lans, T., Chizari, M., & Mulder, M. (2016). The Impact of Entrepreneurship Education: A Study of Iranian Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions and Opportunity Identification. Journal of Small Business Management, 54(1), 187–209. https://doi.org/10.1111/JSBM.12137

Krueger, N., Liñán, F., & Nabi, G. (2013). Cultural values and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 25(9– 10), 703–707. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.20 13.862961

Liñán, F., & Chen, Y. W. (2009). Development and cross-cultural application of a specific instrument to measure entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 33(3), 593–617. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.15406520.2009.00318.X;JOURNAL:JO URNAL:ETPB;WEBSITE:WEBSIT E:SAGE;WGROUP:STRING:PUB LICATION

Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O. S. (2014). The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence.

Journal of Economic Literature, 52(1), 5–44. https://doi.org/10.1257/JEL.52.1.5

Lv, Y., Chen, Y., Sha, Y., Wang, J., An, L., Chen, T., Huang, X., Huang, Y., & Huang, L. (2021). How Entrepreneurship Education at Universities Influences Entrepreneurial Intention: Mediating Effect Based on Entrepreneurial Competence. Frontiers in Psychology, 12.

Mahfud, T., Triyono, M. B., Sudira, P., & Mulyani, Y. (2020). The influence of social capital and entrepreneurial attitude orientation on entrepreneurial intentions: the mediating role of psychological capital. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 26(1), 33–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IEDEEN.2 019.12.005

Martin, B. C., McNally, J. J., & Kay, M. J. (2013). Examining the formation of human capital in entrepreneurship: A meta-analysis of entrepreneurship education outcomes. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(2), 211–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JBUSVEN T.2012.03.002

McMullen, J. S., & Shepherd, D. A. (2006). Entrepreneurial action and the role of uncertainty in the theory of the entrepreneur. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 132– 152. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2006.1 9379628

Montes, J., Ávila, L., Hernández, D., Apodaca, L., Zamora-Bosa, S., & Cordova-Buiza, F. (2023). Impact of entrepreneurship education on the entrepreneurial intention of university students in Latin America. Cogent Business & Management, 10(3), 2282793. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.20 23.2282793

Pandit, D., Tiwari, S., & Joshi, M. (2018). Examining Entrepreneurial Intention in Higher Education: An Exploratory Study of College Students in India. Journal of Entrepreneurship, 27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0971355717 738595

Ranga, V., Jain, S., & Venkateswarlu, P. (2019). Exploration of Entrepreneurial Intentions of Management Students Using Shapero’s Model. Theoretical Economics Letters, 09(04), 959–972. https://doi.org/10.4236/TEL.2019.94 062

Ratten, V., & Jones, P. (2021). Entrepreneurship and management education: Exploring trends and gaps. The International Journal of Management Education, 19(1), 100431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2020.100431

Roy, R., & Das, N. (2019). A critical comparison of factors affecting science and technology students’ entrepreneurial intention: a tale of two genders. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance 2019 20:1, 20(1), 49–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10775-01909393-4

Setiawan, A., Nugraheni, E., Rahmattullah, M., Bella, T., & Elyani, H. (2023). The Influence of Risk Propensity, Entrepreneurial Intentions and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy on Entrepreneurial Behavior among Students. Journal of Economics Education and Entrepreneurship, 4, 134. https://doi.org/10.20527/jee.v4i2.10 299

Smith, R. M., Sardeshmukh, S. R., & Combs, G. M. (2016). Understanding gender, creativity, and entrepreneurial intentions. Education + Training, 58(3), 263– 282. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-062015-0044

Souitaris, V., Zerbinati, S., & Al-Laham, A. (2007). Do entrepreneurship programmes raise entrepreneurial intention of science and engineering students? The effect of learning, inspiration and resources. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(4), 566–591. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JBUSVEN T.2006.05.002

Stanley Budner, N. Y. (1962). Intolerance of ambiguity as a personality variable. Journal of Personality, 30(1), 29–50. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1467-6494.1962.TB02303.X

Su, Y., Zhu, Z., Chen, J., Jin, Y., Wang, T., Lin, C.-L., & Xu, D. (2021). Factors Influencing Entrepreneurial

Intention of University Students in China: Integrating the Perceived University Support and Theory of Planned Behavior. Sustainability, 13(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084519

Urbano, D., Audretsch, D., Aparicio, S., & Noguera, M. (2020). Does entrepreneurial activity matter for economic growth in developing countries? The role of the institutional environment. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 16(3), 1065–1099. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-019-00621-5

Yang, Q., Chen, J., Yang, L., & Liu, Z. (2021). How to Develop Entrepreneurial Talent More

Effectively? A Comparison of Different Entrepreneurship Educational Methods. Frontiers in

Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.644113

Yurtkoru, E. S., Acar, P., & Teraman, B. S. (2014). Willingness to Take Risk and Entrepreneurial Intention of University Students: An Empirical Study Comparing Private and State Universities. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 150, 834–840. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SBSPRO.2014.09.092

Zafar, A., & Mustafa, S. (2017). SMEs and Its Role in Economic and Socio-Economic Development of Pakistan. ERN: Other Development Economics: Macroeconomic Issues in Developing Economies (Topic).

https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:169336641

Shi, X.H. Research on the Relationship between College Students’ Entrepreneurial Environment, Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Intention. Master’s Dissertation, Beijing Jiaotong

University, Beijing, China, 2018.

Tang, M. On the Relationship between Enterpreneurial Self-Efficay Devisionand Enterprising. J. Shaoyang Univ. Soc. Sci. Ed. 2009, 8, 66–68.

Liñán, F.; Chen, Y.-W. Development and Cross–Cultural Application of a Specific Instrument to Measure Entrepreneurial Intentions. Entrep. Theory Pract. 2009, 33, 593–617. [CrossRef]

Bignotti A., Le Roux I. (2020). Which types of experience matter? The role of prior start-up experiences and work experience in fostering youth entrepreneurial intentions. Int. J. Entrep. Behav. Res. 26, 1181–1198. doi: 10.1108/IJEBR-10-2019-0577

Wang, X.-H.; Wang, H.-P.; Lai, W.-Y. Sustainable Career Development for College Students: An Inquiry into SCCT-Based Career Decision-Making. Sustainability 2023, 15, 426

Most read articles by the same author(s)