The impact of values, identity and personal norms on the green entrepreneurial intention of university students in South Africa

Abstract

One of the major challenges that the world currently faces is climate change. Green entrepreneurship offers a viable way for a country to manage climate change and improve economic growth. University students are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, and it is important to understand the determinants of their green entrepreneurial intention. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of biospheric values, environmental self-identity, and personal norms on the green entrepreneurial intention of university students through an extended Theory of Planned Behavior. The study adopts the quantitative research method and data is collected from students at two South African universities. The cross-sectional survey method is adopted for data collection and purposive sampling is used to select the study participants. Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypotheses of the study using SPSS AMOS 27. The findings indicate that biospheric values, attitude, perceived behavioral control, environmental self-identity and personal norms are significantly positively related to green entrepreneurial intention. The study concludes that an extended Theory of Planned Behavior model that includes biospheric values, environmental self-identity identity and personal norms is useful in predicting the green entrepreneurial intention of university students. Entrepreneurship education and improved awareness of ecological challenges are needed to improve the green entrepreneurial intention of university students.