Interplay of Influencing Factors Shaping Entrepreneurial Intention: Evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

This study examines the relationships between risk-taking propensity (RTP), entrepreneurship education support (EES), need for achievement (NFA), and entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of Bangladeshi university students, as well as the mediating roles of attitude toward entrepreneurship (ATE), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the study was conducted with a sample of 381 respondents. Results show that attitudes play a mediating role in the relationship between RTP and EI, and RTP has a direct positive effect on attitudes toward entrepreneurship and EI. Although EES does not have a direct effect on EI, it does have a positive effect on all other components of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), which in turn influences EI. Perceived behavioral control and attitudes toward entrepreneurship serve as full mediators of the EES-EI connection. Subjective norms, on the other hand, have no relationship with EI and do not serve as a mediator between the EES and EI relationship. However, NFA and EI do not have a direct relationship; NFA influences EI indirectly via perceived behavioral control, which in turn influences EI directly. This research contributes to the existing literature by offering significant theoretical and practical insights into the factors that influence entrepreneurial intentions among university students in developing economies.