Liu Qing, Yao-Ping Peng Michael
Hunan University of International Economics, Changsha, China.
School of Management, Foshan University, Foshan, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 9;20(1):e0316392. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316392. eCollection 2025.
Entrepreneurship is an increasingly popular career choice among students, driven by the transformative impact of emerging technologies and evolving professional landscapes. This study focuses on how higher education shapes students' professional identities and entrepreneurial intentions, particularly among business school students. Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as the foundational framework, the study examines the factors influencing entrepreneurial intentions, with a specific emphasis on the moderating role of departmental identification. The primary aim of this research is to explore how students' identification with their academic departments influences the relationship between entrepreneurial attitude, self-efficacy, and environmental support with entrepreneurial intentions. The study hypothesizes that the stronger the departmental identification, the more significant these relationships become. A survey is conducted among students from several public universities in the eastern provinces of Mainland China, yielding 1,632 valid responses. The results confirm a positive correlation between entrepreneurial attitude, self-efficacy, and environmental support with entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, departmental identification moderates these relationships, amplifying the effects when students identify strongly with their academic departments. These findings emphasize the critical role of departmental identity in shaping entrepreneurial aspirations. They highlight the need for higher education institutions to leverage departmental identity as a strategic tool to guide students' career trajectories. By fostering a supportive academic environment that strengthens departmental identity, institutions can better prepare their students for entrepreneurial success in a rapidly evolving professional world.
在新兴技术的变革性影响和不断演变的职业格局的推动下，创业成为学生中越来越受欢迎的职业选择。本研究聚焦于高等教育如何塑造学生的职业身份和创业意向，特别是在商学院学生中。该研究以计划行为理论（TPB）为基础框架，考察影响创业意向的因素，特别强调部门认同的调节作用。本研究的主要目的是探讨学生对其学术部门的认同如何影响创业态度、自我效能感和环境支持与创业意向之间的关系。研究假设部门认同越强，这些关系就越显著。对中国大陆东部省份几所公立大学的学生进行了一项调查，共获得1632份有效回复。结果证实了创业态度、自我效能感和环境支持与创业意向之间存在正相关。此外，部门认同调节了这些关系，当学生对其学术部门有强烈认同时，会放大这些影响。这些发现强调了部门认同在塑造创业抱负方面的关键作用。它们凸显了高等教育机构需要将部门认同作为一种战略工具来引导学生的职业轨迹。通过营造一个强化部门认同的支持性学术环境，高校能够更好地帮助学生在快速演变的职业世界中取得创业成功。
