Why is changing students’ entrepreneurial intentions so hard? On dissonance reduction and the self-imposed self-fulfilling prophecy

Abstract

While most policymakers and researchers focus on how students' entrepreneurial intentions can be increased, this study examines what makes the change so difficult, i.e., why pre- and post-course entrepreneurial intentions are strongly related. Building on dissonance reduction theory pursuant to the self-imposed self-fulfilling prophecy phenomenon, we tested a serial mediation model in contexts that give rise to differing expectations regarding the role of inspiration: entrepreneurship versus other courses, in developed versus developing countries. Using pre-test post-test survey data collected from (mostly business) students at 16 universities across nine countries, we analysed an internationally representative sample of 580 valid responses through structural equation modelling. The results confirmed the serial mediation mechanism: pre-course intentions are positively related to students' expected entrepreneurial inspiration, enhancing in turn their experienced entrepreneurial inspiration, which ultimately leads to higher post-course intentions. This mechanism is significantly stronger among students taking entrepreneurship (versus other) courses but is unaffected by the economic context, as it is equally significant across developed and developing countries. Our findings shed light on exploring the determinants of intention fixedness, which is severely under-researched. Furthermore, our study enables policymakers and entrepreneurship educators to draft a more realistic expectation of students’ post-course entrepreneurial intentions.