The Curvilinear Effect of Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Intentions

Abstract

Entrepreneurship education has drawn attention from policy makers and scholars because of its potential influence on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. However, the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions remains inconsistent and controversial. Grounded in the social cognitive theory, we examined a potential curvilinear effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions while also investigated the mediating role of entrepreneurial passion and the moderating role of resilience on this curvilinear effect. Two studies were carried out to test these ideas. In Study 1, data collected from 554 technology students from Vietnamese universities revealed that entrepreneurship education exhibited a U-shaped relationship with entrepreneurial intentions. Study 2 replicated and extended results from Study 1 by utilizing a sample of 721 business students from Vietnamese universities. The findings of Study 2 demonstrated that entrepreneurial passion mediated the curvilinear effect from entrepreneurship education to entrepreneurial intentions. Moreover, the association between entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial intentions was found to be strengthened by resilience. Our results offered significant implications for both theory and practice.