PurposeThe main goal of this work is to argue the theoretical validity of two competitive models that integrate entrepreneurial alertness in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and also to propose an explanation for the conceptual approach with a higher explicative ability.Design/Methodology/ApproachA total of 281 undergraduate students participated in the survey, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and competitive models.FindingsThe research shows it is possible to defend and test two competing TPB models with entrepreneurial alertness (EA), which alerts other field researchers to consider more than one possibility. The model showing the impact EA has on attitude toward the behavior (ATB) and perceived behavioral control (PBC), as well as the model showing the impact of ATB and PBC on EA are both valid. The shared characteristic of the sample may explain a higher predictive power in the first model.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was limited to undergraduate students of one university.Practical implicationsFor educators and policymakers, these results highlight the need to include content related to EA in entrepreneurship education programs since it could trigger the entrepreneurial process.Originality/valueThe paper is the first of its kind to demonstrate competing arguments for the role of EA in TPB.