Female students’ entrepreneurial leadership and education: A sequential mediation analysis of entrepreneurial knowledge and mindset

Rajenthyran Ayavoo, Ponmalar N. Alagappar and Egena Ode

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2025, vol. 17, issue 5, 731-748

Abstract: Women are under-represented in business, especially in patriarchal countries like Malaysia, hence efforts to encourage female students to become entrepreneurs are needed. This study uses human capital theory to examine how entrepreneurial education affects female students’ entrepreneurial leadership, showing the sequential mediating roles of entrepreneurial knowledge and mindset. The research surveyed 377 Malaysian female university students using a questionnaire. Data was analyzed using PLS-SEM. The findings show that entrepreneurship education improves entrepreneurial knowledge and mindset. The sequential mediation of entrepreneurial knowledge and mindset leads to entrepreneurial leadership. The findings show how education, knowledge, and mindset develop entrepreneurial skills. In this research, we learn how entrepreneurial education programs might assist female students to develop the knowledge and mindset needed to lead their enterprises. The findings are important for educators, policymakers, and practitioners promoting female entrepreneurship and leadership in developing, and patriarchal countries. This study's key contribution is a step-by-step approach showing how entrepreneurial education builds female university students’ knowledge and mindset to become entrepreneurial leaders in the context of patriarchal societies.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2025.2536276

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