Entrepreneur's managerial competencies and innovative start-up intentions in university students: Focus on mediating factors

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of entrepreneurs’ managerial competencies on the development of innovative start-up intentions among university students, and examines the mediating roles of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and attitude toward start-ups. Data were collected from several universities in Iran that offer entrepreneurship courses. To analyze the relationship among the variables, a confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation modeling were applied. Results showed the significance of entrepreneurs’ managerial competencies for the development of innovative start-up intentions through the mediating factors. The results also revealed that self-efficacy does not necessarily lead to innovative start-ups due to the important role of attitude.