Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Mindset among Students in Higher Learning Institutions

Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in driving economic growth, innovation, and employment generation, particularly among the younger generation. However, entrepreneurial intention among Malaysian university students remains relatively low, highlighting the need to better understand the factors that shape their entrepreneurial mindset. This study aims to examine the relationship between risk-taking, innovativeness, locus of control, need for achievement, and self-efficacy on the entrepreneurial mindset of Malaysian university students. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this research focuses on final-year students from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). A total of 103 responses were collected through online questionnaires, and the data were analyzed using multiple regression techniques. The findings demonstrate that innovativeness, need for achievement, and self-efficacy are significantly and positively associated with entrepreneurial mindset, with self-efficacy emerging as the most influential predictor. Conversely, risk-taking propensity and locus of control were not found to have significant effects. These results highlight the importance of psychological and cognitive factors in shaping students’ entrepreneurial mindset. The significant contributions of this study, along with recommendations for future research and its limitations, are also discussed.

Entrepreneurial mindset, self-efficacy, innovativeness, higher education, Malaysia

1. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Anwar, I., & Saleem, I. (2019). Exploring entrepreneurial characteristics among university students: Evidence from India. Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 13(3), 282–295. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Al-Ghazali, B. M., Shah, S. H. A., & Sohail, M. S. (2022). The role of five big personality traits and entrepreneurial mindset on entrepreneurial intentions among university students in Saudi Arabia. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 964875. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, New York: W. H. Freeman. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Campbell, C., Smith, L. N., Dugan, E. A., & Komives, S. R. (2021). Proactivity, mindsets and the development of students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 24(2), 1–18. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Cater, J. J., Young, M., & Hua, L. (2023). Examining the entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 25(4), 30-46. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Cheng, C. S., Kamaruddin, J. N., Goh, T.-H., & Melati, I. S. (2025). Assessing the influence of digital entrepreneurial role model, innovative cognition and social media adroitness on digital entrepreneurial intention among university students in Malaysia. Information Management and Business Review, 17(2), 383–393. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Colombelli, A., Loccisano, S., Panelli, A., Pennisi, O. A. M., & Serraino, F. (2022). Entrepreneurship education: The effects of challenge-based learning on the entrepreneurial mindset of university students. Administrative Sciences, 12(1), 10. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Fauzi, U. A. M., Abbas, S. R., & Abdullah, R. (2024). Motivations and challenges faced by university students in pursuing entrepreneurship ventures: A UUM perspective. Journal of Management and Entrepreneurship Studies, 6(2), 45–59. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. George, D., & Mallery, P. (2003). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference (4th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage Learning. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Ismail, R. M., & Ismail, N. A. (2023). Understanding Bumiputera entrepreneurs’ involvement in halal business. Central Asia and the Caucasus. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Ismail, N. A. H. M., Maklen, N. M. N., Saari, I. S., & Ab Hamid, A. S. (2023). Impact of motivating factors on business start-up among undergraduate students. Asian People Journal, 6(1), 1-12. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Kuan, W. J., Musa, R., Yeoh, S. C., & Phoon, L. Y. (2022). From school to business: A study of private university students’ motivation determinant and intention to be an entrepreneur. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business, 10(2), 1-15. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Krueger, N. F., Reilly, M. D., & Carsrud, A. L. (2000). Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Business Venturing, 15(5–6), 411–432. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Kuratko, D. F., & Morris, M. H. (2018). Entrepreneurship education: Emerging trends and challenges for the 21st century. Journal of Small Business Management, 56(1), 10–27. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Li, Y., Cao, K., & Jenatabadi, H. S. (2023). Effect of entrepreneurial education and creativity on entrepreneurial intention in college students: Mediating entrepreneurial inspiration, mindset, and self-efficacy. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1189456. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Mad Noh, N. A., Abu Bakar, A. R., & Ahmad, S. (2024). Entrepreneurial mindset among students of Southern Zone Community Colleges: Gender, age, and study program. Journal of Technical Education and Training, 16(1), 1–12. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Maheshwari, G., Kha, K. L. K., & Arokiasamy, A. R. A. (2023). Factors affecting students’ entrepreneurial intentions: A systematic review (2005–2022) for future directions in theory and practice. Management Review Quarterly, 73(4), 935–960. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. McClelland, D. C. (1961). The achieving society. Princeton, New Jersey: Van Nostrand. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Mohd Noor, N. H., Yaacob, M. A., & Omar, N. (2021). Redefining the link between subjective norm and entrepreneurship intention: Mediating effect of locus of control. Journal of International Business, Economics and Entrepreneurship, 6(1), 1–9. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Montes, J., Ochoa-Alejo, L., Salazar-Elena, J. C., & Alvarez-Herranz, A. (2023). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention: The role of self-efficacy, attitudes, and the theory of planned behavior. Cogent Business & Management, 10(1), 2282793. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Musa, S. N. S., Seman, A. S. A., & Hamzah, S. R. (2023). Entrepreneurial intention among university students in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(12), 2661–2670. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Newman, A., Obschonka, M., Schwarz, S., Cohen, M., & Nielsen, I. (2019). Entrepreneurial self-efficacy: A systematic review of the literature on its theoretical foundations, measurement, antecedents, and outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 110, 403–419. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Numfam, V. F., Afrifa Yamoah, E., & Asitik, A. J. (2022). Mediation roles of pedagogical approaches and personality traits in entrepreneurial curriculum design and entrepreneurial intention nexus. Entrepreneurship Education, 5(2), 179–197. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Obschonka, M., Silbereisen, R. K., & Schmitt-Rodermund, E. (2015). Entrepreneurial intention as developmental outcome: A developmental–genetic perspective. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 90, 90–102. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Ozigi, O. A., Onyeukwu, P. E., Nasamu, G., & Ozigi, E. E. (2024). Entrepreneurial education as a covariate between entrepreneur orientation and entrepreneurial intention amongst graduating students of private universities in Abuja, FCT – Nigeria. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 8(3), 1228–1243. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Pinto, P., Pallikkara, V., Pinto, S., & Hawaldar, I. T. (2024). Unveiling the entrepreneurial mindset: Exploring orientation and intentions among students. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 13(33). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Rauch, A., & Frese, M. (2007). Let’s put the person back into entrepreneurship research: A meta-analysis on the relationship between business owners’ personality traits, business creation, and success. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 16(4), 353–385. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Robin, B., Ali, J. K., Abdullah, M., & Wahyuningsih, D. (2025). Extending the theory of planned behavior: Entrepreneurial intention among undergraduate students in Sarawak, Malaysia. International Journal of Service Management and Sustainability, 10(2), 1–13. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Rahman, A. A., Sahid, S., Nor, M. Y. M., & Mansor, A. Z. (2023a). Entrepreneurial mindset and business creation among undergraduate students in Malaysia public university. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(3), 660–669. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Rahman, N. A., Ahmad, N. H., & Mohd Noor, H. (2023b). Entrepreneurial intention among university students: Personality traits that matter. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Creativity Education, 3(1), 15–27. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Roscoe J. T. (1975). Fundamental Research Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. Holt Rinehart and Winston: Austin Texas, USA. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 80(1), 1–28. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Sekaran, U. & Bougie, R. (2016). Research Methods for Business: A Skill-building Approach. 7th Edition, West Sussex: Wiley & Sons [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Soelaiman, L., Selamat, F., & Puspitowati, I. (2023). Exploring the predictive factors of Gen Z readiness for entrepreneurship. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 12(5), 10–16. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Timmons, J. A., & Spinelli, S. (2009). New venture creation: Entrepreneurship for the 21st century (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Van Gelderen, M., Kautonen, T., & Fink, M. (2021). From entrepreneurial intentions to actions: Self-control and action-related doubt. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 15, e00217. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Vamvaka, V., Stoforos, C., Palaskas, T., & Botsaris, C. (2020). Attitude toward entrepreneurship, perceived behavioral control, and entrepreneurial intention: Dimensionality, structural relationships, and gender differences. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 9, 5. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Wiramihardja, K., N’dary, V., Al Mamun, A., Munikrishnan, U. T., Yang, Q., Salamah, A. A., & Hayat, N. (2022). Sustainable economic development through entrepreneurship: A study on attitude, opportunity recognition, and entrepreneurial intention among university students in Malaysia. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 866753. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. Zemlyak, S., Naumenkov, A., & Khromenkova, G. (2022). Measuring the entrepreneurial mindset: The motivations behind the behavioral intentions of starting a sustainable business. Sustainability, 14(23), 15997. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Zhao, H., & Seibert, S. E. (2006). The Big Five personality dimensions and entrepreneurial status: A meta-analytical review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(2), 259–271. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Entrepreneurship and Start-Up Ecosystem Vis-À-Vis Government Start-Up Scheme in Manipur: A Critical Review and a Way Forward
• Building Resilience: How Malaysian Women Entrepreneurs Use Strengths and Resources to Navigate Challenges
• Branding in Digital Entrepreneurship: Evaluating Branding Criteria in IT Entrepreneurship
• Bridging the Intention–Action Gap through Entrepreneurial Optimism: A Conceptual Exploration
• Entrepreneurial Orientation of Undergraduate Students in University Malaysia Perlis: A Conceptual Paper