Analyzing university students’ entrepreneurial intentions under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic

Giuseppina Maria Cardella (), Virginia Barba-Sánchez, Ángel Meseguer-Martinez, Brizeida Hernández-Sánchez and José Carlos Sánchez-García
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Giuseppina Maria Cardella: University of Salamanca, Avenida de la Merced
Ángel Meseguer-Martinez: University of Castilla-La Mancha
Brizeida Hernández-Sánchez: University of Salamanca, Avenida de la Merced
José Carlos Sánchez-García: University of Salamanca, Avenida de la Merced

International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2024, vol. 20, issue 4, No 5, 2567-2590

Abstract: Abstract This study examines the influence of psychological variables on university students' entrepreneurial intention during the current crisis. We argue that individuals use their psychological resources to cope with adverse situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We therefore investigate how the basic psychological needs satisfaction, proactivity and optimism positively influence the intentions of choosing an entrepreneurial career and, on the contrary, how the impact of COVID-19 pandemic perception on the future country's economy can negatively affect the student’s career choice. Methodologically, we used structural equation modelling on a sample of 201 university students in Spain. Our findings support the idea that entrepreneurial intentions are hampered by the perception of COVID-19, but promoted by the basic psychological needs satisfaction, as a motivational factor, when driven by optimism and proactivity. Our research has important implications. From a theoretical point of view, it contributes to the little existing literature on the importance of factors that promote entrepreneurial intention in adverse conditions, demonstrating that students' psychological characteristics can support their performance and, therefore, the economic and social development of the community. From a practical perspective, the present work has important implications for educators and policymakers to introduce programs that encourage entrepreneurship in students by cultivating proactivity and optimism and by offering educational resources that help students reduce perceived risk and increase motivation towards an entrepreneurial career.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial intention; COVID-19; Basic psychological needs satisfaction; Proactivity; Optimism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s11365-024-00945-x

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