Entrepreneurship Education as a Moderator of Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy and Business Intention among Business Administration Graduates

Abstract

Despite the growing emphasis on entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions, limited evidence exists regarding its moderating role in the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and business intention among Business Administration graduates in the Davao Region. This study examined the moderating effect of entrepreneurship education on the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and business intention. Specifically, it determined the levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, business intention, and entrepreneurship education and investigated whether entrepreneurship education significantly moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and business intention. A quantitative cross-sectional descriptive-correlational research design with moderation analysis was employed. Data were collected from 200 Business Administration graduates in the Davao Region using a structured survey questionnaire. Respondents were selected through a combination of snowball and convenience sampling techniques. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation, and moderation analysis through Hayes' PROCESS Macro (Model 1). The findings revealed that the respondents reported a high level of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (M = 3.89), a very high level of business intention (M = 4.23), and a high level of entrepreneurship education (M = 4.16). A strong positive relationship was found between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and business intention (r = 0.66, p < .001). Moderation analysis further revealed that entrepreneurship education significantly moderated the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and business intention, as indicated by a significant negative interaction effect (B = −0.08, p = 0.03). Although entrepreneurial self-efficacy remained a significant positive predictor of business intention across all examined levels of entrepreneurship education, the strength of this relationship decreased as entrepreneurship education increased. The findings suggest that entrepreneurship education modifies, rather than strengthens, the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and business intention. These results contribute to the understanding of how entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial self-efficacy jointly relate to business intention and may provide useful insights for the design and enhancement of entrepreneurship education programs.