article · The International Journal of Management Education
Many aspiring entrepreneurs intend to start businesses, but intention does not always lead to actual action. Research among undergraduate students reveals how individuals transition from entrepreneurial intention to real entrepreneurial behaviour, addressing the intention-action gap. Using a two-phase quantitative survey, data collected from 500 undergraduate students at a South African university were analysed using SMART PLS version 3 software. Entrepreneurial intention serves as a significant determinant of actual entrepreneurial behaviour. Moreover, commitment and an internal locus of control positively moderate this relationship, reinforcing the link between intention and action. These personal factors provide essential boundary conditions that help students turn business aspirations into practical implementation, offering practical implications for students, educators, and policymakers seeking to foster entrepreneurship.
Understanding why students fail to turn business ideas into actual ventures is vital for designing effective enterprise support. By showing that commitment and an internal locus of control bridge the gap between intention and action, this research helps educators and policymakers target psychological factors that turn entrepreneurial ambitions into tangible businesses, thereby supporting youth enterprise and socioeconomic development.
The research provides early-stage behavioural insights rather than a commercial product or technology. Enterprise educators, university incubator managers, and policymakers can apply these findings to design support programmes that strengthen student commitment and internal locus of control. Because the abstract does not indicate a commercialisation pathway, the work remains at an academic stage, offering conceptual frameworks for institutional intervention rather than market-ready applications.
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Entrepreneurial intention (EI) is an important element in entrepreneurship, as it influences actual behaviour. Nevertheless, there are concerns that EI may not translate to behaviour, resulting in an EI–action gap, suggesting the need to explore factors that moderate this relationship. The current study tested the relationship between EI and actual behaviour among undergraduate university students. Additionally, the study evaluated whether commitment and internal locus of control moderate the relationship between EI and actual behaviour among university students. A quantitative research method was adopted and data were collected using a questionnaire in two phases. A sample of 500 undergraduate university students from a South African university was drawn using the convenience sampling technique. Data analysis was performed using SMART PLS version 3 software. The findings showed that EI is a significant determinant of actual behaviour. Furthermore, the findings showed that commitment and internal locus of control positively moderate the relationship between EI and actual behaviour. The current findings extend the existing literature by demonstrating that commitment and internal locus of control provide favourable boundary conditions required for students to transition from EI to actual behaviour. The study culminates with practical implications for students, academics, and policymakers.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.ijme.2024.100964
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