Factors That Can Promote the Green Entrepreneurial Intention of College Students: A Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Green entrepreneurship has a huge role in solving environmental degradation and social problems. As today’s youth are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, enhancing their green entrepreneurial intention will contribute to the sustainable development of economy in the future. The existing literature has examined the green entrepreneurial intention of college students based on self-efficacy, entrepreneurial creativity, entrepreneurship education, financial support, sustainable development values, and other influencing factors. However, these studies focus on net effect of factors on the results of college students’ green entrepreneurial intention, ignoring the combination of multiple factors, and the relationship between different configurations of factors and the results of college students’ green entrepreneurial intention. Therefore, this study aimed to understand and analyze the influence of the complex relationship between multiple antecedents (entrepreneurial creativity, future self-continuity, green cognition, entrepreneurship culture, entrepreneurship education, and financial support) on college students’ green entrepreneurial intention from a comprehensive perspective. Based on 207 questionnaires collected from colleges in the coastal cities of China, this study used the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method for data analysis. The results showed three dominant paths of great significance to college students’ high green entrepreneurial intention: entrepreneurial creativity—green cognition—dominant path; entrepreneurial creativity—financial support—dominant path; and the future self-continuity—entrepreneurship culture—entrepreneurship education—dominant path. The results of this study can help college educators to plan courses on innovative thinking and green entrepreneurship to improve college students’ entrepreneurial creativity and green cognitive ability.

Improving Social Performance through Innovative Small Green Businesses: Knowledge Sharing and Green Entrepreneurial Intention as Antecedents

“…Entrepreneurship is viewed as deliberate behaviour, and while intention is the readiness to carry out an action of a given type at a specific time [54], entrepreneurial intention is more specifically defined as the inclination to perform certain entrepreneurial behaviours [55]. When combined with green values, entrepreneurial intention develops GEI, which focuses on social and economic development [41] and greater business sustainability [56]. Green entrepreneurship and GEI focus on developing new innovations and technologies [42], but they have also been identified as a means of addressing environmental issues [40,57].…”

“…The presence of entrepreneurial intention can lead to entrepreneurial businesses that are better planned and can plan for the development of innovative services and products [58]. Enterprises that engage in strengthening the GEI of their staff tend to contribute positively to the development of a sustainable economy [41], which promotes long-term economic growth while minimising the adverse effects on the community's social, environmental, and cultural aspects. Individuals with GEI focus on market demands, utilise hygienic manufacturing processes, exhibit greater innovativeness, and implement environmental management strategies to develop their enterprises' services and products [59].…”

“…GEI, or green entrepreneurship, has been put forth as a solution to environmental and social challenges [40]. Those with GEI tend to develop more behaviours towards developing the economy and society [41]. However, to become a green entrepreneur, it is necessary to develop green intentions [42].…”

Green Entrepreneurship among Students—Social and Behavioral Motivation

“…Green entrepreneurship among students has represented a research subject for various scientists, most of whom were interested in researching the intention of students and their contact and perspective on green entrepreneurship and the relations between the variables that influence it [34]. This new but existing field of green entrepreneurship among students is determined by a series of factors [35] such as individual and external elements. As for the individual factors, it is to be mentioned that the most important are the entrepreneurial personality and the spirit itself within the logical thinking, rationality, creativity, power of will, the spirit of a winner, tenacity, perseverance, logic or argumentation, persuasion, honesty, team spirit, pragmatism, sociability, etc.…”

“…Green knowledge represents the process of understanding ecological concepts and the ability to solve ecological problems by integrating ecological knowledge and abilities [8]. The stronger the ecological knowledge, the more a person is more determined to get involved in activities in the green entrepreneurship domain [35]. With social support, a green entrepreneur's culture can influence the intention of the green entrepreneurship [44].…”