Entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability: the effects of passion and self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intentions

Purpose This study investigates antecedents determining the inclination to engage in future environmental entrepreneurial activities. Building on passion research and social cognitive theory, the authors explore the role of environmental passion for environmental entrepreneurial intention, drawing attention to the mediating role of environmental self-efficacy. Design/methodology/approach A regression-based path analysis for mediation to test the developed hypotheses on a sample of 139 young individuals is applied. Findings The results demonstrate a significant positive effect of environmental passion on environmental entrepreneurial intention. The mediation analysis shows a positive direct and indirect effect of passion on intention, concluding that self-efficacy is a partial mediator. The results further suggest that environmental entrepreneurial intention is related to gender. In contrast, covariates like age, entrepreneurial exposure and entrepreneurship education have no significant effect. Practical implications The results have implications for practitioners and policymakers who aim to further entrepreneurship for environmental sustainability. It underlines the need to take emotional antecedents seriously, suggests policy for creative and interdisciplinary education with respect to its challenges and emphasizes the roles of teachers in fostering passion. Originality/value The results provide a deeper contextualized understanding of passion, self-efficacy and intention in environmental entrepreneurship. These results offer an original perspective of entrepreneurship as a conduit to channel energy, concerns and passionate interests in the natural environment. The study presents theoretical implications for passion theory by extending sources of passion and clarifying the direction of self-efficacy in entrepreneurship.