From entrepreneurial learning engagement to entrepreneurial intention among Chinese university students: the roles of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and uncertainty avoidance.
4 affiliations
- 1Continuing Education College, Jilin Engineering Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
- 2Department of Educational Administration, International College, Krirk University, Bangkok, Thailand.
- 3School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Jilin Engineering Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
- 4Shenzhen Finance Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Abstract
As universities play a growing role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship to support economic growth, researchers have increasingly focused on understanding the mechanisms through which entrepreneurial education influences students' entrepreneurial intention. Accordingly, on the basis of learning engagement theory, social cognitive theory, and cultural dimension theory, this study investigated the relationships between entrepreneurial learning engagement, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, uncertainty avoidance, and entrepreneurial intention. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 1,578 university students in Jilin Province, China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the direct, mediating, and moderating effects among the study variables. Entrepreneurial learning engagement was positively associated with entrepreneurial intention both directly and indirectly through entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Multigroup analyses showed that its associations with self-efficacy and intention differed significantly between uncertainty-avoidance groups. In the high-avoidance group, only the indirect association was significant, whereas both direct and indirect associations were significant in the low-avoidance group. However, the between-group difference in the indirect association did not reach statistical significance. The findings highlight entrepreneurial self-efficacy as an important psychological correlate of both entrepreneurial learning engagement and entrepreneurial intention and indicate that these relationships differ across groups characterized by different levels of uncertainty avoidance. These patterns underscore the relevance of efficacy beliefs and uncertainty-related orientations for understanding students' entrepreneurial intention. Given the cross-sectional design, the findings should be interpreted as statistical associations rather than evidence of temporal ordering or causality. Future longitudinal or experimental research is needed to examine these relationships further.
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BibTeX
@article{dong2026from,
title = {{From entrepreneurial learning engagement to entrepreneurial intention among Chinese university students: the roles of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and uncertainty avoidance.}},
author = {Pengzhong Dong and Chia Ching Tu and Xinmin Li and Limeng Dong},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1851960},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952687},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - From entrepreneurial learning engagement to entrepreneurial intention among Chinese university students: the roles of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and uncertainty avoidance.
AU - Pengzhong Dong
AU - Chia Ching Tu
AU - Xinmin Li
AU - Limeng Dong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Frontiers in psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1851960
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952687
AB - As universities play a growing role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship to support economic growth, researchers have increasingly focused on understanding the mechanisms through which entrepreneurial education influences students' entrepreneurial intention. Accordingly, on the basis of learning engagement theory, social cognitive theory, and cultural dimension theory, this study investigated the relationships between entrepreneurial learning engagement, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, uncertainty avoidance, and entrepreneurial intention. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 1,578 university students in Jilin Province, China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the direct, mediating, and moderating effects among the study variables. Entrepreneurial learning engagement was positively associated with entrepreneurial intention both directly and indirectly through entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Multigroup analyses showed that its associations with self-efficacy and intention differed significantly between uncertainty-avoidance groups. In the high-avoidance group, only the indirect association was significant, whereas both direct and indirect associations were significant in the low-avoidance group. However, the between-group difference in the indirect association did not reach statistical significance. The findings highlight entrepreneurial self-efficacy as an important psychological correlate of both entrepreneurial learning engagement and entrepreneurial intention and indicate that these relationships differ across groups characterized by different levels of uncertainty avoidance. These patterns underscore the relevance of efficacy beliefs and uncertainty-related orientations for understanding students' entrepreneurial intention. Given the cross-sectional design, the findings should be interpreted as statistical associations rather than evidence of temporal ordering or causality. Future longitudinal or experimental research is needed to examine these relationships further.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -