Entrepreneurship education, role models, and risk-taking propensity as predictors of entrepreneurial intention and behaviour : evidence from TVET and university students in Gauteng, South Africa

The extent to which entrepreneurship education and exposure to role models influence the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial intention, and subsequent entrepreneurial behaviour has yielded mixed results in prior research. Furthermore, limited attention has been given to the role of risk-taking propensity in shaping attitude towards behaviour and perceived behavioural control within the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework. To address these gaps, this study investigates the influence of entrepreneurship education and role models on the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial intention, and entrepreneurial behaviour, drawing on the TPB. In addition, the study examines the effect of risk-taking propensity on both attitude towards behaviour and perceived behavioural control, the relationships between the TPB antecedents and entrepreneurial intention, as well as the direct effects of perceived behavioural control and entrepreneurial intention on entrepreneurial behaviour. Data were collected from 496 final-year diploma students enrolled at a University of Technology and a TVET College in Gauteng, South Africa, using a structured, self-administered online questionnaire. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data and test the hypothesised relationships. The findings revealed that entrepreneurship education significantly influences all the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention but does not have a direct influence on entrepreneurial intention or behaviour. Role models had a significant positive effect on perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, and entrepreneurial behaviour, but no effect on attitude towards behaviour or entrepreneurial intention. Risk-taking propensity had a positive effect on both attitude towards behaviour and perceived behavioural control. Furthermore, attitude towards behaviour and perceived behavioural control significantly predicted entrepreneurial intention, while subjective norms did not. Both entrepreneurial intention and perceived behavioural control exerted a significant direct effect on entrepreneurial behaviour. This study highlights the critical role of entrepreneurship education, exposure to entrepreneurial role models, and risk-taking propensity as drivers of entrepreneurial intention and behaviour.