Examining Entrepreneurial Intention of the Saudi Arabia’s University Students: Analyzing Alternative Integrated Research Model of TPB and EEM

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is driving the growth of many countries in the world. Several studies have examined antecedents of theory of planned behavior (TPB) as the key factors influencing individual entrepreneurial intentions. However, some other studies have used entrepreneurial event model (EEM) to assess perceived desirability and feasibility as the antecedents of EI. Moreover, the meta-analysis and structural equation modeling of the existing literature using these models has provided a revised integrated model, which has been shown to outperform the individual models. Yet none of the empirical research has investigated this integrated model in any context in general and particularly in the Saudi Arabia’s context. This paper aims to examine the individual TPB and EEM models and investigate the integrated meta-analytic models by Schlaegel and Koenig (Entrep Theory Pract 38(2):291–332, 2014) and Alferaih (Int J Entrep Innov 18(3):195–209, 2017). It then tests the proposed combined model with some relevant additional variables such as innovativeness and business environment. The findings indicate that the new research model surpasses all four models using the same dataset. The results indicate that innovativeness emerged as the strongest predictor of entrepreneurial behavior. The study also provides contributions to theory and implications for practice toward the end.