Opening the “Black Box” of University Entrepreneurial Intention in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Entrepreneurial Intention through a Stimulus–Organism–Response Perspective

Among scholars, there is an interest in understanding how entrepreneurial behavior is influenced by the consequences of crises. The COVID-19 pandemic may negatively or positively affect individuals’ behavior, including entrepreneurial intention. Thus, this paper seeks to study whether or not the economic shock caused by the pandemic reinforces the intention to start a business. The research was administered at the individual level by distributing a structured survey. The hypotheses were developed based on a unique conceptual framework integrating the planned behavior theory and a stimulus–organism–response perspective. The relationships were tested using the structural equation modeling method with an original dataset of more than 800 respondents from three post-communist transition countries. The results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic, seen as an opportunity, positively influences both the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention and individuals’ intention to start a business. The message that these findings convey is that, even in crises, there are opportunities from which one can benefit, including the individual’s propensity to engage in startup activities. By examining the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on entrepreneurial behavior, educational institutions and policymakers can design effective policies to foster entrepreneurship and reduce unemployment, particularly among the youth.

How Stable Are Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions in the COVID-19 Pandemic Context?

The purposed longitudinal study analyzes the evolution of students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions (EI) and its antecedents over the COVID-19 pandemic period and explores the inter-individual differences and the intra-individual changes. Our main contribution consists of proposing two-panel estimations techniques: first, a Latent Change Score model (LCS) approach to analyze the stability of our constructs, and second, a Generalized Least Squares (GLS) Random-Effect estimation of a complex network of relationships that we have identified within the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework. Our empirical results show that students’ EI enrolled in an entrepreneurship education (EE) program increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals with initial higher scores for EI have changed less than those with lower initial scores, and a gender difference exists in the initial level of EI and its antecedents. Our results also document the moderation effects of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and the importance of inspiration and resources in building students’ EI and provide valuable policy recommendations for universities regarding the design of EE programs to contribute to the economic recovery in the post-pandemic era

The Impact of Cross-Cultural Adaptation on Entrepreneurial Psychological Factors and Innovation Ability for New Entrepreneurs

In the context of economic slowdown and unemployment upsurge in China, many college graduates set their goals on entrepreneurship. To help more new entrepreneurs improve their innovation ability and entrepreneurial success rate, the synergy theory of entrepreneurial psychology and entrepreneurial ability in the entrepreneurial period was put forward from the perspective of cross-cultural adaptation. On the basis of positive psychology, the entrepreneur’s psychological quality and innovation ability were combined to help explore the entrepreneur’s inner psychology and innovation ability. The study first analyzed the current development status and characteristics of new entrepreneurs through the literature review method, and explored the relationship between cross-cultural adaptation and new ventures. Second, it examined the relationship among achievement incentives, knowledge level, and the role of communication and entrepreneurs’ entrepreneurial intentions from the perspective of positive psychology. Finally, based on the influence relationship and personal experience, research hypotheses and models, the study verified the hypotheses by designing questionnaire surveys, and used the controlled variable method to conduct single-factor test analysis on influencing factors and perform a t-test on the data. The results show that the Cronbach’s α coefficient in the QS is 0.894, which has good reliability. According to the regression analysis results, achievement motivation (AM) can significantly affect entrepreneurial intention (EI) (β = 487, p < 0.05), knowledge level (KL) and EI (β = 316, p < 0.05), and the regression coefficient is greater than 0, but there is no significant effect of communicate effectiveness (CE) on EI (p = 0.109 > 0.05). In the control variables influence analysis, the level of education of new entrepreneurs was negatively correlated with AM. When the college students’ educational level improved, their EI decreased. It shows that AM can promote new entrepreneurs to pursue higher goals, and different level of education has a greater impact on entrepreneurs’ AM, which has a more significant impact on entrepreneurial intention. The results further prove that entrepreneurs’ psychological factors have a particular impact on the development of enterprises.

The Impact of Gender on Entrepreneurial Intention in a Peripheral Region of Europe: A Multigroup Analysis

The last two decades were characterized by an increase in attention on entrepreneurship. An emerging trend in the literature is associated with the different contributions that genders may have regarding entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intentions. This paper assesses gender impact on entrepreneurial intention in a peripheral region of Europe. The methodology used is quantitative and based on a sample of 1114 observations. The obtained results suggest that women’s perceived behavioral control does not have a less direct positive impact on entrepreneurial intention when compared to men’s. Women’s personal attitude has a less direct positive impact on entrepreneurial intention when compared to men’s, as social norms, on the one hand, have a less direct positive impact on women’s personal attitude when compared to men’s, and, on the other hand, have a less direct positive impact on women’s perceived behavioral control when compared to men’s. Finally, it was also verified that social norms have a less positive indirect impact through personal attitude and perceived behavioral control on women’s entrepreneurial intention when compared to men’s. These findings contribute to enlighten the literature by strengthening the theoretical framework on women’s entrepreneurial intention in peripheral regions. Regarding practical contributions, suggestions are addressed to public decision makers, universities, and civil society, to adopt practices to increase entrepreneurship in women. This research is original because it is the first to perform this study in Portugal, a peripheral region of Europe.

From Decision to Survival—Shifting the Paradigm in Entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 Pandemic

(1) Purpose: The main objective of this research was to determine if and how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted new entrepreneurial opportunities. The study also focused on finding the means of actions that can positively affect the future entrepreneurial field. (2) Methodology: Initially, the literature review was approached, the complementary evaluation of the researchers’ interest sustaining the timeliness of the analyzed topic. The empirical analysis implied conducting a multiple statistical regression on how the new entrepreneurial opportunities can be affected by relevant variables. (3) Findings: The obtained results highlighted a potential beneficial effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on entrepreneurship, namely determining new entrepreneurial opportunities. The need to consider new directions of action in entrepreneurship was also outlined, the online migration and the adaption to new market configurations being considered essential promoters of change. (4) Practical Implications/Originality/Value: Although existing research focused, to a large extent, on analyzing the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on entrepreneurship, few of them highlighted a future perspective that would ensure the continuity of entrepreneurial processes in extreme conditions, such as those under study. The present research could contribute to the specialty literature enrichment while serving as guidance to the entrepreneurship practitioners towards the implementation of long-term visions and processes.