Predicting entrepreneurial and crowdfunding intentions among music conservatory and university students

This study examines how psychological, educational, and financial factors shape students' entrepreneurial intention and their willingness to use digital crowdfunding platforms. The study develops an integrated framework grounded in the Theory of Needs, Self-Determination Theory, and Human Capital Theory. Moreover, it underscores the role of digital platforms as entrepreneurial ecosystems that foster opportunity recognition and value creation. The empirical research draws on a sample of 719 students from diverse academic fields, including music conservatory students, a group rarely examined in entrepreneurship research, and university students. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the model and conduct multi-group analysis. Our results suggest that entrepreneurial motivation, experience, and competences significantly predict entrepreneurial intention, whereas financial knowledge influences only crowdfunding intention. Entrepreneurial intention is strongly associated with crowdfunding intention. Most direct effects are consistent across disciplines, although the relationship between financial knowledge and crowdfunding intention differs among groups. This study advances theory by connecting motivational and human capital perspectives to explain crowdfunding adoption in both traditional and creative business contexts. Practical implications highlight the importance of reinforcing entrepreneurship education alongside financial and digital literacy. Crowdfunding platforms and policy design should promote inclusive, adaptive, and mentoring-oriented support for potential entrepreneurs.