The association between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention: A moderated mediation model

This study investigated the mediating role of goal orientation and the moderating role of business insights in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention. Survey data were collected from 1097 Chinese undergraduates (68.5% female; Mage = 20.13, SD = 1.14) using psychometrically validated instruments. Conditional process analyses were performed via the SPSS PROCESS macro (Model 14; 5000 bootstrap iterations). Results revealed that entrepreneurship education enhanced entrepreneurial intention both directly and indirectly through goal orientation, supporting partial mediation. Notably, business insights moderated the goal orientation–entrepreneurial intention relationship to be weaker, such that the indirect effect was stronger among students with lower business insights. Theoretically, this study extends Social Cognitive Career Theory by elucidating a goal-regulatory mechanism and advocates for differentiated entrepreneurship curricula calibrated to students’ business insight profiles. These findings suggest that substantial business insights may compensate for goal-driven motivational pathways, thereby attenuating goal orientation’s mediating function.