How positive emotions affect entrepreneurial intention of college students: A moderated mediation model

Abstract

Entrepreneurial intention (EI) is a crucial requirement for encouraging significant entrepreneurial activity, which is essential for economic growth and social stability. Cultivating college students' EI is a critical element of higher education. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study constructs a moderated mediation model, aiming to explore the intricate processes and conditioning elements that influence the EI of college students and investigate the mediating role of future time perspective (FTP) between positive emotion (PE) and entrepreneurial intention (EI) among Chinese college students, as well as the moderating role of gender. In this study, we used a questionnaire survey method to collect a valid sample of 890 college students in China through Questionnaire Star (https://www.wix.cn; an online questionnaire collection platform widely used in various research fields in China) and used SPSS and AOMS to conduct the preliminary statistics and reliability tests. PROCESS version 3.5 by Hayes (a plug-in for SPSS) was used for hypothesis testing. The findings revealed that PE significantly positively influenced EI, and FTP completely mediated the relationship between PE and EI. However, it was discovered that gender did not exhibit any significant moderating effect on the influence of PE on EI through FTP. The findings of this study enhance our comprehension of the significance of PE among college students and expand our awareness of the mechanisms and circumstances in which PE impacts EI. This study serves as a reminder to educators to prioritize the role of FTP and gender intervention in the development of EI among college students but also offers empirical evidence and practical recommendations for effectively fostering EI among college students. Furthermore, the results of this study establish a foundation to facilitate future researchers' investigation of the causal relationships between these variables.

Highlights

• •Positive emotion is a significant predictor for the formation of entrepreneurial intention among college students.
• •Future time perspective has a complete mediating role between positive emotion and entrepreneurial intention.
• •Gender was not found to have a moderating role in this study.

1. Introduction

Entrepreneurial intention (EI) refers to an individual's intention to engage in activities actively and plans to develop a new business venture [1]. It encompasses an individual's attitudes and perceptions toward entrepreneurial activities [2], reflecting their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral tendencies toward entrepreneurship [3]. EI is a crucial factor in promoting entrepreneurial actions [2,4] and is the initial stage of entrepreneurship [5]. It plays a significant role in economic and social progress by creating job opportunities, fostering creativity, and enhancing productivity [6,7]. Consequently, cultivating a population of entrepreneurs with EI is crucial for a nation's economy to flourish [8]. During the university stage, individuals undergo a crucial phase of personal development that shapes their entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions [6]. Nonetheless, an empirical investigation in 2022 revealed persistent challenges in augmenting and cultivating EI among university students [9]. Consequently, investigating the inherent process of how to boost EI among college students has emerged as a significant challenge in contemporary higher education.

Positive emotion (PE) plays a crucial role in entrepreneurial success, as supported by previous research [10]. It stimulates a broader range of ideas and actions in individuals [11] and significantly impacts EI [12]. This influence is also applicable to shaping the EI of college students [13]. Future time perspective (FTP) describes an individual's perception of time that favorably impacts their behavior and decision-making [14]. It can also enhance an individual's confidence in pursuing entrepreneurial career goals by recognizing potential opportunities [15]. Research has proposed that perception of time is crucial in individuals' decision-making processes [16]. Furthermore, it has been established that FTP significantly influences individuals' formation of decisive intentions [17], positively predicting their intentions to pursue an entrepreneurial career [15]. Hence, it is imperative to consider the significance of PE and FTP while examining the determinants that impact the EI of university students.

Research has demonstrated a robust connection between PE and the development of FTP [[14], [15], [16]]. Additionally, PE has been found to influence FTP notably [16]. In addition, as a component of human motivation, FTP plays a fundamental role in selecting and pursuing goals [18]. Prior studies have examined the relationship between emotions and future careers and specifically explored the possibility of FTP as a mediating variable [19,20], which provides some theoretical basis for the association between emotions and future careers. However, past research has yet to directly validate FTP as a mediator of the relationship between PE and EI. Furthermore, past research has demonstrated notable disparities across genders in terms of PE [21], FTP [17,22], and EI [12,23]. Recent research has indicated that gender serves as a moderating factor in the relationship between PE and EI [24]. this study also needs to consider gender as an intervening condition in examining the influence of PE on EI through FTP.

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) delineates attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as the principal determinants of individuals' EI [25], and this theory has been extensively employed to elucidate individuals' behavioral intentions [[26], [27], [28]]. This study, grounded in TPB, seeks to fill existing gaps in the understanding of potential mediators concerning the relationship between PE and EI. It proposes a moderated mediation model that examines the mediating role of an individual's FTP in the connection between PE and EI while also considering the moderating influence of gender. This approach aims to elucidate the intricate dynamics that have not been thoroughly investigated in prior literature, thereby enhancing our comprehension of the EI development process among college students [29].

This study investigates the mediating effect of FTP on the relationship between PE and EI while also examining the moderating influence of gender. It enhances our comprehension of the connection between PE and EI, addresses gaps in existing literature, and confirms the relevance of the TPB in analyzing individual behavioral intentions. It serves as a significant reference for higher education institutions in fostering EI among college students.

2. Literature review

2.1. PE and EI

PE is a temporary sensation [21] that arises from pleasurable sensations associated with accomplishing a goal or fulfilling a need [30], frequently accompanied by positive behavioral outcomes [31]. In past studies, PE has been found to initiate cognitive, social, and behavioral transformations that enhance an individual's capacity to enable them to make innovative choices, sustain their involvement, effectively address obstacles [21], and stimulate entrepreneurial awareness and enhances the likelihood of personal entrepreneurship [[32], [33], [34]].Individuals might augment their intrinsic motivation by bringing their PE to seek possible business possibilities, thereby affecting their intention to pursue entrepreneurship [[35], [36], [37]]. Hence, it can be argued that PE is widely considered a crucial determinant of entrepreneurship [10] and one of the predictors of intention [38].

PE enhances the spirit of risk-taking and enables individuals to make favorable judgments about their abilities and situations, which in turn stimulates entrepreneurial awareness and enhances the likelihood of personal entrepreneurship [[32], [33], [34]]. PE can facilitate the cultivation of entrepreneurial cognition and the enhancement of resilient behavior [39]. Individuals with positive attitudes are more likely to take positive actions to achieve the entrepreneurial programs [40]. Therefore. PE is one of the predictors of intention [38]. A study of 312 students in Chinese colleges showed that positive entrepreneurial mood is a significant explanatory factor for the propensity to engage in entrepreneurial behavior [41]. Another study of 751 university students in Spain found a significant positive predictive relationship between PE and EI [13]. A survey of 251 university students in Bangladesh revealed that entrepreneurial antecedents, specifically attitude and subjective norm, significantly enhance EI [42]. While the aforementioned research examined the correlation between PE and EI, variations in the influence of PE on EI among college students may exist depending on distinct cultural contexts. Based on the abovementioned discussion, the study proposed hypothesis 1 (H1): PE significantly predicts EI among Chinese college students.

2.2. The mediating role of FTP

FTP is defined as the cognitive motivational framework involving the anticipation and preparation of future time, which is a flexible concept that may be influenced and shaped [43]. Individuals with a better FTP are more inclined to foresee the future outcomes of their actions; they are more likely to establish objectives, participate in strategic planning, and take proactive measures to accomplish those objectives [44]. Studies have demonstrated that FTP significantly influences individuals' goal formation, planning, and self-regulation behaviors [43]. Therefore, FTP is a crucial psychological notion that can enhance individuals' ability to plan and accomplish their objectives effectively.

PE facilitates individuals' cognitive flexibility, increasing their susceptibility to new information and perspectives, thereby increasing the probability of achieving these objectives [21]. Additionally, PE contributes to forming FTP, as students who experience PE place a greater emphasis on their objectives, are more confident of their future actions, and perceive that they have significant control over their future [14]. The results of several studies suggest that PE are linked to FTP [15,16,45]. In particular, Grühn's [45] study explored 2504 respondents and demonstrated a positive correlation between PE and FTP. Similarly, Hicks et al. [15] surveyed undergraduate university students and confirmed a significant positive correlation between PE and FTP. These findings are corroborated by a recent study on UK undergraduates, which provides evidence that PE are substantially correlated with FTP and engagement [16]. It implies that individuals' expectations of the future can be improved by PE, which can motivate them to develop long-term plans and confront the future with assurance.

FTP motivates individuals to set more challenging goals and have expectations for future achievements. Research conducted by Lens et al. [44] revealed that individuals who adopt a longer FTP are more inclined to predict the future outcomes of their present actions. Additionally, they are more likely to establish objectives, engage in strategic planning, and actively work towards achieving those objectives. Prior research has established a correlation between individuals' professional ambitions and FTP [20,33,46]. A study conducted on 249 undergraduate students in South Korea revealed a significant positive relationship between FTP and career decision-making and normative goal-oriented behaviors [20]. Similarly, a study including 1046 undergraduates from the United States, Mexico, and Spain demonstrated that an individual's FTP played a role in explaining EI [46]. Furthermore, a study conducted on Chinese college students revealed that FTP directly enhances the probability of EI among college students [33]. Many researchers have illustrated that college students must meticulously evaluate their opportunity perception while developing EI, and that FTP can substantially enhance the appeal and viability of this perception [47,48]. Hence, FTP might significantly impact personal career choices and entrepreneurial aspirations.

Our hypothesis, derived from multiple recent studies, posits that FTP may significantly influence the connection between PE and EI. FTP enhances an individual's assessment of future possibilities and stimulates risk-taking and innovative thinking. In contrast, EI depends on the individual's perception of when entrepreneurial events are expected to occur in his or her life. FTP strengthens learning orientation, which, in turn, stimulates entrepreneurial career intention among college students [16,33,46]. Hence, in the EI research framework, PE significantly enhances individuals' FTP [45], making individuals more inclined to look into the future and plan for a long-term development blueprint. At the same time, FTP is able to maintain the goal-oriented aspect [33], which stimulates and even determines the choice of an individual's EI. Thus, FTP is not only influenced by PE, but can also play an essential role as a mediating variable between emotions and entrepreneurial (career) intentions. Nonetheless, the precise mechanisms of FTP's influence on the PE-EI relationship require further investigation, particularly across diverse cultural and educational contexts. Based on the discussion above, hypothesis 2 (H2) was proposed: FTP mediates PE and EI among Chinese college students.

2.3. The moderating role of gender

EP and FTP significantly impact the EI among college students. However, their influence may vary across students of different genders. Gender differences in entrepreneurial activity are a matter of concern [49]. Several studies have demonstrated that gender exhibits substantial disparities in PE [21], FTP [17,22], and EI [23,50,51].

Several studies have indicated that females have lesser EI than males [23,50,51]. Regarding PE, past research indicates that females exhibit lower levels of PE compared to males [21,52,53]. As for FTP, much research has indicated that females exhibit more optimistic expectations for the future than males [17]; additionally, females demonstrate greater motivation and expectations for the future and higher levels of FTP [22]. Consequently, we align with Maes et al. [54] and contend that certain previous research might exhibit gender bias, necessitating further validation of the earlier findings.

Notably, gender is often explored as a moderating variable in recent studies on EI. For example, Maslakçı et al. [55] argued that gender differentiated the effect of positive psychological capital on EI. Kong and Choo's [23] study explained how gender moderated achievement motivation and EI. Ramadani et al. [8] examined the moderating effect of gender on the association between entrepreneurship education and EI among graduates in Bangladesh. Based on the above literature analysis, gender may differ in the relationships among all three variables involved in this study and may be a key intervening factor to be considered in the topic of this study [22,56]. However, no research confirms whether gender moderates the PE process on EI through FTP among college students, which is worth exploring. Therefore, based on theoretical and literature analysis, this study proposed the following hypotheses.

Hypothesis 3

(H2): Gender moderates the relationship between PE and FTP;

Hypothesis 4

(H4): Gender moderates the relationship between FTP and EI;

Hypothesis 5

(H5): Gender moderates the relationship between PE and EI.

The current conceptual model diagram is shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2.

Fig. 1.

The conceptual model 1.

Fig. 2.

The conceptual model 2.

3. Method

3.1. Participants and survey process

This study used convenience sampling to collect data among college students from four colleges in central and eastern areas of China. The specific time of data collection for this study was from March 8 to April 1, 2023. The study distributed 1200 questionnaires with 885 valid questionnaires remaining. Invalid questionnaires with too short a time to fill out or missing values were excluded. The demographic data of the valid samples are shown in Table 1. As for gender, there 389 males (44.0 %) and 496 females (56.0 %); in terms of grade distribution, first-grade students are 504 (56.9 %), second-grade students are 271 (30.6 %), third-grade students are 65 (7.3 %), fourth-grade students are 45 (5.1 %); regarding distribution of family location, 635 participants are from urban area (71.8 %), 250 are from rural area (28.2 %); as for numbers of children in the family, there 157 only children (17.7 %) and 728 (82.3 %) non-only children; regarding ethnic distribution, 153 (17.3 %) are ethnic minorities, 732 (82.7 %) are non-ethnic minorities.

Table 1.

Valid sample demographics.

Variable	Options	n	Percentage (%)
Gender	Male	389	44.0 %
	Female	496	56.0 %
Grade	First-grade	504	56.9 %
	Second-grade	271	30.6 %
	Third-grade	65	7.3 %
	Fourth-grade	45	5.1 %
Home location	Urban area	635	71.8 %
	Rural area	250	28.2 %
Only-child (OC)/Non-only-child (NOC) status	Only children	157	17.7 %
	Non-only children	728	82.3 %
Nation	Ethnic minorities	153	17.3 %
	Non-ethnic minorities	732	82.7 %

3.2. Research instrument

The positive affect scale (PAS) revised by Chen and Zhang [57] was used in our study. It was a one-dimensional, eight-item scale revised for Chinese students based on the positive affect and negative affect scale (PANAS) initially developed by Watson et al. [58]. The scale was a 4-point Likert scale; higher scores indicated a higher level of PE. The Cronbach's α of the scale was 0.915 (>0.7), indicating good reliability [59]. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in Table 2 showed that RMR = 0.040, GFI = 0.783, SRMR = 0.0773, RMSEA = 0.195, NFI = 0.852, TLI = 0.0773, RMSEA = 0.195, NFI = 0.052, and TLI = 0.052. 0.852, TLI = 0.800, CFI = 0.855, RFI = 0.973, IFI = 0.855, and PNFI = 0.608, indicating the ideal measurement model fit [60]. As shown in Table 3, the factor loadings on each question item of the scale were from 0.694 to 0.827 (>0.5); the value of composite reliability (CR) was 0.917 (>0.7); the value of average variance extracted (AVE) was 0.580 (>0.5); the results indicated a good convergent validity of the measurement model [61]. Table 4 demonstrates that the square root value of AVE was greater than the correlation coefficient between any two dimensions, indicating an excellent discriminant validity of the measurement model [61].

Table 2.

Assessing model fitness.

Model Fitness	RMR	GFI	CFI	NFI	TLI	IFI	PNFI
Standard	<0.08	>0.85	>0.85	>0.85	>0.80	>0.85	>0.5
Future Time Perspective (FTP)	0.020	0.921	0.959	0.957	0.939	0.959	0.639
Positive Emotion (PE)	0.040	0.783	0.855	0.852	0.797	0.855	0.608
Entrepreneurial Intention (EI)	0.016	0.979	0.985	0.983	0.985	0.985	0.492

Table 3.

Reliability and validity of the measurement model.

Dimension	ITEM No.	SRW (>0.5)	CR (>0.7)	AVE (>0.5)	Cronbach's α
Future Time Perspective (FTP)	FTP1	0.827	0.942	0.703	0.943
	FTP2	0.783
	FTP3	0.843
	FTP4	0.825
	FTP5	0.886
	FTP6	0.855
	FTP7	0.845
Positive Emotion (PE)	PE1	0.758	0.917	0.580	0.915
	PE2	0.726
	PE3	0.726
	PE4	0.797
	PE5	0.763
	PE6	0.827
	PE7	0.791
	PE8	0.694
Entrepreneurial Intention (EI)	EI1	0.769	0.909	0.667	0.908
	EI2	0.809
	EI3	0.885
	EI4	0.801
	EI5	0.816

Table 4.

Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.

Variable	M	SD	Positive Emotion (PE)	Future Time Perspective (FTP)	Entrepreneurial Intention (EI)
Positive Emotion (PE)	3.02	0.57	0.762
Future Time Perspective (FTP)	3.79	0.69	0.680∗∗∗	0.838
Entrepreneurial Intention (EI)	3.43	0.74	0.303∗∗∗	0.418∗∗∗	0.817

Note: n = 885; ∗∗∗p < 0.001; The bold values on the diagonal are the square root of the AVE.

FPT was measured with a future time perspective scale adapted by Boo et al. [62] for the Asian population background, which was initially based on the scale designed by Carstensen et al. [18]. It is a unidimensional scale containing 7 items and scored on a 5-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating a better view of the future of time. The Cronbach's α of the scale in our study was 0.943 (>0.7), indicating good scale reliability [59]. The CFA results show that RMR = 0.020, GFI = 0.921, AGFI = 0.842, SRMR = 0.0312, NFI = 0.957, TLI = 0.939, CFI = 0.959, RFI = 0.935, IFI = 0.959, and PNFI = 0.638, indicating a good fit of the measurement model [60]. The factor loadings of the scale items were from 0.783 to 0.886 (>0.5), the CR value was 0.942 (>0.7), and the AVE value was 0.703 (>0.5). These results suggest a satisfactory convergent validity of the measurement model [61]. The square root value of AVE was greater than the correlation coefficient between any two dimensions, which satisfies the requirement of good discriminant validity [61].

Jena [63] adapted entrepreneurial intention scale was employed to measure EI in this study, which was a unidimensional 5-item scale revised from the original entrepreneurial intention scale developed by Liñán and Chen [64]. It was a 5-point Likert scale, with a higher score indicating a higher level of EI. The Cronbach's α of the scale in the study was 0.908 (>0.7), indicating good reliability [59]. Meanwhile, the results of CFA showed RMR = 0.016, GFI = 0.979, AGFI = 0.937, SRMR = 0.021, RMSEA = 0.098, NFI = 0.983, TLI = 0.985, CFI = 0.985, RFI = 0.966, IFI = 0.985, and PNFI = 0.492, which indicated a satisfactory measurement model fit [60]. The factor loadings of the scale items were from 0.769 to 0.885 (>0.5); the CR value was 0.909 (>0.7); the AVE value was 0.667 (>0.5). These results indicated an ideal convergence validity of the measurement model [61]. The square root of AVE was higher than the correlation coefficients of the scales, indicating that the measurement model's discriminant validity is good [61].

3.3. Data analysis

The study used AMOS software to test the validity of the above measurement tools and the common method variance (CMV) problem. Also, SPSS software was employed. First, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis of the variables were performed. Second, Model 4 (for testing the mediating effect) and Model 59 (for testing the moderating of gender on the direct and indirect paths) provided by PROCESS version 3.5 by Hayes were used to test the hypotheses, respectively. Moreover, the Bootstrap method was used to repeat the sample of 5000 to test the 95 % confidence interval (CI) of the path coefficients, and if the 95 % CI did not include 0, then the effect was significant [65].

4. Results

4.1. CMV test

The study applied the CFA to assess the CMV and compare the fit of one-factor and the multi-factor models. The results, as presented in Table 5, showed that the chi-square value in the one-factor model (х² = 5116.584) was higher than that in the multi-factors model (х² = 1404.773), indicating the fit of the multi-factors model was significantly better than that of the one-factor model (Δх² = 3711.81, Δdf = 3, p < 0.00001). These results suggested that the problem of CMV was not significant in this study [66,67].

Table 5.

Comparison of the one-factor and multi-factor models.

Model	х2	df	х2/df	△х2	△df	p	RMR	GFI	CFI	NFI
One-Factor Model	5116.58	170	30.098	3711.81	3	P < 0.00001	0.096	0.519	0.639	0.632
Multi-Factor Model	1404.773	167	8.412				0.037	0.828	0.910	0.899

4.2. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis

As presented in Table 4, there was a significant positive association between PE and EI (r = 0.303, p < 0.001), a significant positive association between FTP and EI (r = 0.418, p < 0.001), a significant positive association between PE and FTP (r = 0.680, p < 0.001). Further observation revealed that the correlation coefficients between two of the three variables were less than 0.8, indicating a moderate correlation level without collinearity problem in this study, and the next step of linear regression analysis could be carried out [68].

4.3. Mediating role of FTP

The following results are presented in Table 6, Table 7 as well as Fig. 3, Fig. 4: First, PE significantly and positively affected EI (B = 0.397, p < 0.001; 95 % CI ranging from 0.307 to 0.491), and H1 was verified. Second, PE significantly and positively affected FTP (B = 0.824, p < 0.001; 95 % CI ranging from 0.756 to 0.892). However, when the effects of PE and FTP on EI were test simultaneously, FTP significantly and positively affected EI (B = 0.426, p < 0.001; 95 % CI ranging 0.312 to 0.543) while the direct effect of PE on EI became non-significant (B = 0.397, p < 0.001 became B = 0.046, p > 0.05; 95 % CI ranging from −0.082 to 0.171). In light of the above analyses, FTP completely mediates the relationship between PE and EI.

Table 6.

Testing the mediation model of future time perspective (FTP).

Variable	Entrepreneurial Intention (EI)			Future Time Perspective (FTP)			Entrepreneurial Intention (EI)
	B	t	95 % CI	B	t	95 % CI	B	t	95 % CI
Positive Emotion (PE)	0.397	9.441∗∗∗	(0.307, 0.491)	0.824	27.543∗∗∗	(0.756, 0.892)	0.046	0.839	(-0.082, 0.171)
Future time Perspective (FTP)							0.426	9.449∗∗∗	(0.312, 0 0.543)
R2	0.092			0.462			0.175
F	89.136∗∗∗			758.597∗∗∗			93.664∗∗∗

Note: n = 885; B is the un-normalised path coefficient; ∗∗∗p < 0.001.

Table 7.

Direct, indirect and total effects.

Effect	Path	Estimate	95 % CI
			Lower Limit	Upper Limit
Direct effect	Positive Emotion (PE)→Entrepreneurial Intention (EI)	0.046	−0.082	0.171
Indirect effect	Positive Emotion (PE)→Future Time Perspective (FTP)→Entrepreneurial Intention (EI)	0.351	0.255	0.452
Total effect	Positive Emotion (PE)→Entrepreneurial Intention (EI)	0.397	0.307	0.491

Fig. 3.

Total effect diagram.

Fig. 4.

Mediation effect diagram.

The bias-corrected nonparametric percentile Bootstrap was also performed, and a sample size of 5000 was taken for repeated tests. Table 7 shows the results: First, the indirect effect value was 0.351, and 95 % CI ranged from 0.255 to 0.452, indicating a significant mediating influence of FTP. Second, the direct effect value was 0.046, and 95 % CI ranged from −0.082 to 0.171, indicating a complete mediation of FTP in the relationship between PE and EI. Third, the total effect value was 0.397, 95 % CI ranged from 0.307 to 0.491, and the mediating influence accounted for 88.413 % of the total effect. The above results support H2.

4.4. Moderating effect of gender

As presented in Table 8 and Fig. 5, the results of the moderation test on gender showed that the interaction term between PE and gender did not significantly affect FTP (B = 0.070, p > 0.05, 95 % CI ranging from −0.063 to 0.208) nor on EI (B = 0.185, p > 0.05, 95 % CI ranging from −0.064 to 0.458); meanwhile, the interaction term between FTP and gender did not significantly affect EI (B = −0.117, p > 0.05, 95 % CI ranging from −0.356 to 0.109). These results suggest that gender also did not moderate the relationship between PE and FPT, PE and EI, nor FTP and EI. Hence, H3, H4, and H5 were not supported.

Table 8.

Moderating effect of gender.

Variable	Future Time Perspective (FTP)			Entrepreneurial Intention (EI)
	B	t	95 % CI	B	t	95 % CI
Gender	0.084	2.452∗	(0.017, 0.151)	0.194	4.240∗∗∗	(0.106, 0.284)
Positive Emotion (PE)	0.832	27.657∗∗∗	(0.762, 0.901)	0.083	1.514	(-0.043, 0.208)
Positive Emotion (PE) × Gender	0.070	1.167	(-0.063, 0.208)	0.185	1.663	(-0.064, 0.458)
Future Time Perspective (FTP)				0.406	9.054∗∗∗	(0.296, 0.525)
Future Time Perspective (FTP) × Gender	Gender			−0.117	−1.283	(-0.356, 0.109)
R2	0.466			0.194
f	256.776∗∗∗			42.246∗∗∗

Note: Gender was treated as a dummy variable, 1 = Male, 0 = Female; B are unstandardized coefficients.

Fig. 5.

Moderated mediation effect diagram.

5. Discussion

This study's primary theoretical contribution is the confirmation of PE as a strong predictor of EI among college students. The results demonstrate consistency with earlier studies [13,69], and hypothesis H1 is confirmed with evidence confirming that PE strongly predicts EI [10,38]. The potential reasons for this phenomenon may lie in the following manner: First, entrepreneurship is a demanding endeavor that necessitates individuals to possess a spirit of adventure and courage; PE can play a role in augmenting an individual's sense of adventure, thereby fostering their inclination to engage in entrepreneurial pursuits [33,34]. Besides, PE can stimulate creative thinking in entrepreneurial endeavors [34] among college students, thereby fostering the growth of their EI. Furthermore, PE has an impact on individuals' attitudes and their perception of control over their behavior, enabling individuals to make correct and positive assessments of their talents and situations [32,70] and proactive decision-making [34]. Hence, PE is crucial in elucidating EI among college students.

The second theoretical contribution of this study is to validate that FTP has a complete mediation role between PE and EI, supporting Hypothesis 2. This study is consistent with Chen et al.'s [34] study, which reaffirms the positive effect of FTP on EIn. The results suggest that PE can encourage individuals to develop a more positive FTP by increasing their positive expectations of future time. Individuals with better FTP are more capable of anticipating, predicting, and planning for expected future outcomes [43], stimulating individuals' risk-taking and innovative thinking, further contributing to the formation of EI [1]. Therefore, FTP is not only influenced by PE, but also mediates the relationship between PE and EI. The first possible reason for the results may be cognitive mechanisms. PE makes it easier to enhance self-efficacy [71]. FTP further enhances this cognitive flexibility by facilitating individuals' positive expectations of future possibilities [21,72], making individuals more inclined to translate PE into specific EI. The second possible reason may lie in emotion regulation. PE contributes to the development of FTP [14], helping individuals to better cope with the challenges of the entrepreneurial process. FTP further reinforces this emotion regulation by increasing an individual's confidence in the likelihood of future success [1], thus facilitating the formation of EI. The third potential reason may be goal setting. Individuals with better FTP are prone to adapt to change, seize opportunities and face challenges, are willing to explore new opportunities and fields [73], have more vital entrepreneurial spirit and intention, and are willing to put in the effort and make decisions for success [[74], [75], [76]].

Importantly, this study found no evidence of gender playing a notable moderating role in the relation between PE and FTP, FTP and EI, as well as PE and EI, which is the third theoretical contribution of this study, differing from the study of Reissová et al. [77] in that gender was not found to be statistically significant. H3, H4, and H5 were not confirmed, consistent with previous research conducted by Contreras-Barraza et al. [78] and Díaz-García and Jiménez-Moreno [79]. The reasons may lie in the following. First, in the four sampled colleges in our study, male and female students have equal rights and opportunities to pursue higher education, reducing the disparities in educational levels between genders to some extent [80] Access to education provides a platform for developing entrepreneurial competencies and skills [81], enabling female students to have more confidence in making decisions about their lives and future careers [82] thereby narrowing the gender gap in entrepreneurial activities [81]. Hence, the inclination towards future entrepreneurship is not dependent on gender [83]. Second, this study was carried out during the post-epidemic phase in China, when nations globally, including China, have experienced significant impacts from the three-year epidemic and are currently undergoing economic recuperation [84]. The overall context may exert a certain level of adverse influence on the entrepreneurial aspirations of college students, irrespective of their gender. Hence, the influence of gender on the connection between PE and EI of college students through FTP is not statistically significant. Although gender did not show a significant moderating effect in this study, this does not mean that gender differences can be ignored in future research. Instead, it reminds us that the effects of gender and other socio-cultural factors on forming EI need to be explored in greater detail in future research.

6. Implications for the theory

This study enhances the current knowledge system in three ways by investigating the correlation between PE, FTP, and EI of college students. First, this study synthesizes various elements, including PE, FTP, and gender, to offer a more holistic view of EI. Our empirical research confirms the impact of PE and FTP on college students' EI, thereby enhancing the theoretical understanding of the mechanisms underlying EI development. Simultaneously, the findings of the study on gender disparities offer novel insights for the examination of EI, encouraging academics to focus more on the impact of socio-cultural factors on EI. Second, it broadens the investigation into temporal perspective and EI. This study elucidates the mediating function of FTP in the relationship between PE and EI, thereby integrating FTP into the domain of entrepreneurship and opening up novel application scenarios for the study of future time perspectives. The elucidation of the role mechanism of FTP, encompassing cognitive mechanisms, emotional regulation, and goal setting, enhances the theoretical understanding of the relationship between FTP and behavior and serves as a reference for investigating the role of temporal concepts in other behavioral domains. Third, the findings establish a theoretical foundation for entrepreneurial instruction in higher education institutions. College educators can design specialized educational programs that leverage the influence of PE and FTP on students' EI. They should focus on fostering PE in students and guiding them to improve their FTP, thereby enhancing their EI.

7. Implications for the practice

The results of this study are of great significance for enhancing our in-depth understanding of the determinants of college students' EI and contributing to the reference for entrepreneurship education in colleges and universities.

First, higher education practitioners should adequately acknowledge the significance of PE, which is a vital determinant of success [85] since it typically coincides with positive behavioral performance [31], fostering individuals' cognitive growth and enhancing their ability to make more precise cognitive decisions [72] It is suggested that higher education practitioners acquire expertise in cognitive bias modification for interpretive biases (CBM-I) to assist college students in correctly comprehending positive information and avoiding negative cognitions [86]. Integrating emotional awareness education modules into collegiate curricula can assist students in accurately identifying and comprehending PE. Simultaneously, offering special cognitive restructuring courses and enhancing college students' capacity to reevaluate their perceptions can facilitate the cultivation of the cognitive restructuring strategy (known as well-being therapy, WBT) of automatic thinking [87]. Furthermore, colleges and universities may arrange several activities to enhance students' PE. For instance, they may provide discussions on successful cases of entrepreneurship, bring accomplished entrepreneurs to share their experiences, and foster students' entrepreneurial enthusiasm and PE. These emotions can aid college students in attaining an ideal emotional state and foster their entrepreneurial aspirations.

Additionally, it is crucial for higher education practitioners to actively foster college students' FTP, which significantly impacts the formation of goals, plans, and self-regulation [43]. As a result, higher educators should be “visionary and predictable” teachers [88]; The entrepreneurship education program enhances instruction on goal setting for college students. It assists students in elucidating their career objectives and entrepreneurial pursuits and devising precise action plans. Students may be tasked with developing their own entrepreneurial plans as classroom tasks, encompassing short-term, medium-term, and long-term objectives and detailed actions to attain these objectives. In class training, college students can be instructed to contemplate the future and enhance their capacity to foresee forthcoming events; various future scenario simulation activities can be implemented in teaching, enabling students to consider how to make decisions and take action in diverse future scenarios. This approach effectively enhances students' expectations and self-assurance regarding their future success by cultivating their PE, which inspires their EI. Teachers can examine successful entrepreneurial cases and assess potential future challenges based on prior experiences to aid college students in comprehending FTP.

8. Conclusion

This study proposed and validated a moderated mediation model to explore the effects of PE on EI of Chinese college students and the moderating role of gender on these factors. Our findings have revealed that PE significantly affected college students' EI through the complete mediation of FTP. However, gender has been discovered not to moderate the relationships among PE, FTP, and EI. In addition, this study extends the TPB in terms of exploring the internal mechanisms of PE on EI of college students, reconfirming that TPB provides a theoretical framework for EI [[89], [90], [91]] in which behavioral intentions are influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceptual, behavioral control [92]. PE has the potential to enhance individuals' willingness to take risks and their ability to assess their capabilities and situations; in turn, it increases the probability of engaging in personal entrepreneurship [[32], [33], [34]]. On the other hand, FTP can inspire individuals to set goals, engage in planning, and take proactive steps toward achieving those goals [44]. Moreover, it was discovered that PE and FTP have an impact on EI, and this influence remains consistent across genders. This discovery offers fresh evidence to enhance comprehension of the influence of gender on EI.

The theoretical contribution of this study is to expand the understanding of the mechanism by which PE affects EI. By introducing FTP as a mediating variable, this study reveals how PE affects EI through FTP, which fills a gap in existing research. Meanwhile, this finding not only enriches the theoretical framework of entrepreneurship psychology, but also provides new perspectives for future research. First, it reveals the formation mechanism of EI. Introducing the FTP as a mediating variable provides new evidence for understanding the psychological mechanism in the formation process of EI. FTP is an important mediating variable, a complete mediator between PE and EI, thus contributing to the theoretical framework of entrepreneurial psychology. Second, it denies the moderating role of gender in the process of PE affects EI via FTP, providing new perspectives for future research.

9. Limitations and future research directions

The study has certain limitations. First, the scope of the sample was restrictive. The study was restricted to college students from four colleges located in China's central and eastern areas. These regions are economically and culturally prosperous and may not accurately reflect the experiences of college students in other areas of China, particularly in the western and rural provinces. Consequently, the study's findings only provide a thorough representation of some of the college student population throughout different regions of China. Considering the enormous expanse of China's geography and the significant disparities in cultural and socio-economic status across various locations, subsequent research endeavors should broaden the study's scope to authenticate the findings. Second, the study design had limitations. As a cross-sectional design, this study only collected data at a single time point and could not confirm the causal correlations between variables. Subsequent investigations could employ longitudinal studies to monitor the performance of the same cohort of participants at multiple time points, thereby enhancing the understanding of the causal connections suggested by the findings of this study. This approach enables a more precise evaluation of how certain factors influence an individual's behavior or opinions over time. Furthermore, the economic development context may limit the applicability of the findings. Our research was conducted during the post-epidemic period, when global economies underwent a recuperation process [84]. The present timeframe may restrict the applicability of the results. Hence, it is recommended that future investigations be conducted during a phase of economic stability, as this would facilitate a more comprehensive comprehension of the underlying mechanisms in the correlation between pleasant emotions, FTP, and entrepreneurial goals. Finally, there were limitations in terms of cultural context and social environment. Although this study did not find that gender plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between positive emotions and entrepreneurial intentions, future research could further explore the effects of gender differences on entrepreneurial intentions in different cultural contexts and social environments. This study has methodological limitations and potential biases. Self-report questionnaires were predominantly utilized in the data collection, which might result in social desirability and cognitive biases. In order to mitigate these biases, subsequent research should employ diverse data-gathering techniques, including stratified sampling and snowball sampling, to enhance the reliability and validity of the data.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Ling Pan: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Validation, Conceptualization. Jun Li: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Methodology, Conceptualization. Tao Du: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft, Formal analysis. Zi’ao Hu: Writing – original draft, Investigation, Data curation, Conceptualization. Jian-Hong Ye: Writing – original draft, Validation, Formal analysis, Conceptualization.

Informed consent statement

Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Ethical approval and consent to participate

The study was conducted in accordance with the Decla-ration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology (protocol code: HKD-2023-18; date of approval: March 7, 2023).

Data availability statement

The data used in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Funding statement

This work was supported by the Hainan Province “South China Sea New Star” Education Platform project of Hainan Province, China: “Research on the Entrepreneurial Intention and Entrepreneurial Ability Improvement Path of Vocational Undergraduates in Hainan Province” (JYNHXX2023-237).

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Ling Pan reports financial support and administrative support were provided by Department of Education, Hainan Province, China. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Appendix A. Supplementary data

The following is/are the supplementary data to this article: