From Employment Pressure to Entrepreneurial Motivation: An Empirical Analysis of College Students in 14 Universities in China

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is vital in solving the challenges involved in the employment of college students in China. The two viewpoints on the relationship between employment and entrepreneurship are the refugee effect and the entrepreneurial effect. However, the micro-mechanism of this association is yet to be comprehensively discussed. Based on the refugee effect and entrepreneurial effect, along with the entrepreneurial values as the mediating mechanism and the entrepreneurial environment as the moderating variable, this study establishes a theoretical model exploring the impact of employment pressure on necessity entrepreneurship and opportunity entrepreneurship of college students. Moreover, it selected 14 universities covering the eastern, central, and western regions of China. A total of 1,187 college students were surveyed anonymously using a standardized questionnaire. Then, SPSS 24.0 and Mplus 7.0 were employed to process and analyze the data, and the Structural Equation Modeling was established to test the hypothesis. The results demonstrated that employment pressure had a significant positive impact on college students’ necessity for entrepreneurship. Also, employment pressure indirectly affected necessity entrepreneurship and opportunity entrepreneurship through the mediating effect of entrepreneurial values. The entrepreneurial environment (a) positively moderated the relationship between employment pressure, necessity entrepreneurship, and opportunity entrepreneurship and (b) moderated the mediating effect of entrepreneurial values. That is, in a favorable entrepreneurial environment, entrepreneurial values have a stronger mediating effect. Starting from cognitive psychology, this study explored the micro-psychological mechanism of individual employment pressure that has influenced entrepreneurial motivation. It has enriched the existing literature on the entrepreneurship theory of college students, underlining that the hypothesis on refugee effect and entrepreneurial effect is also applicable at the micro-level. On top of that, it has provided a practical reference for the employment and entrepreneurship of current Chinese college students.

Potential categories of employment stress among rural college students and their relationship to employment psychology

“…Statistics from China's Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (n.d.) showed that the number of college students in China was 30.32 million in 2019, and as of 2022 had risen as high as 36.56 million, with rural college students accounting for about 47% of the total. The above data is evidence of the high growth rate in the number of college students in China in recent years, and the number of employed people is also increasing (Senekal and Smith, 2022;Yin, 2022). However, there is no large-scale postgraduate expansion and recruitment program in China, which leads to a grim employment situation for college students (Pei, 2021;Li, 2022;Xiong et al, 2022;Zhi, 2023).…”

Opportunities or Threats? The Role of Entrepreneurial Risk Perception in Shaping the Entrepreneurial Motivation

“…However, their expected goal is not achieved-they do not find satisfactory jobs, but are not willing to stay where they are. Therefore, under the function of self-regulation, they choose to start a business to meet the survival needs of themselves or their families (Yin 2022). Entrepreneurs driven by opportunity motivation see business opportunities and are full of confidence in entrepreneurship.…”

Analysing younger online viewers’ motivation to watch video game live streaming through a positive perspective

“…Leisure purpose means the aim to alleviate the stress of life and get a pleasant experience (Kleiber, Hutchinson, & Williams, 2002). As mentioned before, most younger adults face the dual pressures of study and work, resulting in mental anxiety and depression (Yin, 2022). According to the relevant statistics stated by Yin (2022), nearly 900,000 younger graduates have not found suitable jobs in 2020.…”

“…As mentioned before, most younger adults face the dual pressures of study and work, resulting in mental anxiety and depression (Yin, 2022). According to the relevant statistics stated by Yin (2022), nearly 900,000 younger graduates have not found suitable jobs in 2020. Intangible employment stress significantly harms their mental health.…”