Entrepreneurial Intention Among Engineering Students: Explanation Using Theory of Planned Behavior

Entrepreneurship has increasingly become a crucial research field attracting scholars and policymakers in recent decades as it plays a key role in accelerating economic growth and addressing innovations for certain intractable social problems. Meanwhile, engineering education is often regarded as an innovation-based environment that emphasizes a solid background in applied science and fosters technological advancements to support practical applications in a societal context. Drawing on Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior with the extension of three additional constructs (i.e., perceived career option, entrepreneurial knowledge, entrepreneurial personality traits), this study seeks drivers of entrepreneurial intention among engineering students. In this study, the mass survey was distributed to engineering students across many universities in Ho Chi Minh City. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is utilized to test the conceptual framework. Results from PLS-SEM highlighted the most significant influence of personal attitude on entrepreneurial intention. However, no direct relationship was found between perceived career option and entrepreneurial intention or entrepreneurial knowledge and entrepreneurial intention. Meanwhile, perceived self-efficacy had a complementary mediation on the positive linkage between entrepreneurial personality traits and entrepreneurial intention. From this research, the authors make some recommendations to foster entrepreneurial intention of engineering students.