“Quiet the Mind, and the Soul Will Speak”! Exploring the Boundary Effects of Green Mindfulness and Spiritual Intelligence on University Students’ Green Entrepreneurial Intention–Behavior Link

Abstract

Given the escalated gravity of interest in green start-ups in recent years, extant research on green entrepreneurial behavior has investigated the influence of green entrepreneurial intention in stimulating behavior. However, factors that shape green entrepreneurial intention warrant empirical scrutiny to provide a more nuanced understanding of how green entrepreneurial intention transforms into green entrepreneurial behavior. This study aims to explore the role of an individual’s cognitive mechanism, i.e., green mindfulness, in predicting university students’ green entrepreneurial behavior. The study examines a serial mediation model of green intrinsic motivation and green entrepreneurial intention in the relationship between green mindfulness and green entrepreneurial behavior. In addition, the study investigates the moderating role of spiritual intelligence in the direct relationship between green mindfulness and green intrinsic motivation, and the indirect association between green mindfulness and green entrepreneurial intention through green intrinsic motivation. The study adopts a time-lagged design to collect data from university students from Punjab, Pakistan. The authors analyze 395 responses from students in their final years using SmartPLS (v 4.0). As projected, our findings reveal that green mindfulness elevates green entrepreneurial intention through the mediator effect of green intrinsic motivation, which translates into green entrepreneurial behavior. Furthermore, spiritual intelligence significantly moderates the relationship between green mindfulness and green entrepreneurial intention, mediated by green intrinsic motivation, such that at high levels of spiritual intelligence the association is more pronounced and vice versa. The study presents several noteworthy theoretical and practical implications. From a theoretical perspective, the study contributes to the extant literature by investigating the link between green mindfulness and green entrepreneurial behavior through the serial mediator effects of green entrepreneurial intention and green intrinsic motivation and the moderator effect of spiritual intelligence. From a practical perspective the study presents a theoretical framework of university students’ green entrepreneurial intentions, culminating in green entrepreneurial behavior. By investigating these linkages our research draws practitioners’ attention to the crucial roles of green mindfulness and spiritual intelligence in fostering green entrepreneurial behavior.