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Purpose Drawing on the human capital theory and the dual model of passion, this study aims to explore the mediating role of passion on the relationship between entrepreneurship education programme and students’ attitude towards self-employment (SE). Design/methodology/approach The proposed research framework was tested on a sample of 445 higher education students in four universities in North-Central Nigeria. Findings The results indicated that learning and inspiration account for the variation in students’ attitude towards SE. Furthermore, the study revealed that harmonious and obsessive passion largely mediate the relationship between entrepreneurship education programme and attitude towards SE. Practical implications The policy implication is the scaling of policies targeted at encouraging the development of passion given its significant role in the entrepreneurship education programme and attitude towards SE link. Originality/value The study has established the importance of human capital theory in explaining the attitude towards SE phenomenon using a multi-theoretical approach and has advanced the theoretical field of affect and its relevance in the field of entrepreneurship.

Purpose This paper aims to attempt to synthesize the evidence in literature on the link between passion and passion outcomes to propose a parsimonious framework of entrepreneurial passion and venture performance based on the theory of social cognition, identity and self-regulation. Design/methodology/approach A detailed review of empirical and conceptual articles related to the topic was the adopted methodology. An eclectic synthesis of the evidence guided the development of the framework as proposed. Findings Empirical review of the related studies reveals that the link between entrepreneurial passion and venture performance is distal. Based on the theoretical foundation of the study, entrepreneurial passion is proposed to have a direct link on venture performance and an indirect link mediated by goal-setting, entrepreneurial behavior and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Control variables proposed include age, sex, size, work experience or tenure and self-regulation or feedback. Research limitations/implications Entrepreneurial passion is conceived as an experienced construct conceptualized as the interaction of intense positive feeling and identity centrality associated with venture outcomes defined as opportunity recognition, venture creation/growth and threshold performance. Practical implications The study provides a parsimonious framework of entrepreneurial passion and venture performance that includes goals, entrepreneurial behavior and self-efficacy as mediator variables and age, sex, size, work experience or tenure and self-regulation or feedback as control variables. Originality/value The framework extends the ontological field of entrepreneurial passion, which can be validated by empirical research.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of universities in preparing disabled students to become entrepreneurially inclined after graduation with the aim of developing an entrepreneurial inclination (EI) model. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey was employed using 220 disabled universities’ students in the north-central Nigeria. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and structural equation model. All analyses were performed using SPSS version 22 and AMOS version 22. Findings The findings buttress the significant position of universities in promotion entrepreneurial spirit. It revealed that the university’s role (UR), entrepreneurship education (EE) and role models (RMs) have a positive influence on disabled students’ EI. Universities that make provisions for entrepreneurship infrastructure, knowledge and RMs to disabled students will boost their EI. Second, the more lecturers and RMs inspire students, method of teaching and demonstrating enthusiasm are applied in the teaching of entrepreneurship, the better it prepares students for entrepreneurial career after graduation. Research limitations/implications The study is only restricted to Federal Universities in the North-Central Nigeria. Further research could be conducted to cover other tertiary institutions in North-Central Nigeria. Furthermore, the study employed the cross-sectional approach. A longitudinal approach should be employed to study the trend over a period of at least two years. Finally, the factors identified in triggering EI may not be sufficient enough in explaining the phenomenon. There are other factors that may contribute in influencing EI of the disabled students that were not part of this study. Practical implications This study indicates a number of implications for the universities and policy makers. Specifically, EE, UR and RMs make significant contributions to inclination for disabled students. These factors are key for universities in Nigeria to consider in preparing these students to become entrepreneurial graduates. Policy makers and other stakeholders need to develop keen interest in designing entrepreneurship curriculum to accommodate the specific needs of students with disabilities. Originality/value This study is the first in Nigeria to empirically test the relationship between UR, EE and EI as well as the moderating effect of RMs among universities’ disabled students.

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