Title: Entrepreneurial intent from a crowdfunding perspective

Authors: Shathees Baskaran; Thanabalan Tangaraja; Hairul Rizad Md Sapry; Kesavan Nallaluthan

Addresses: Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia ' Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia ' Malaysian Institute of Industrial Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, 1016, Jln Sultan Ismail, Bandar Wawasan, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ' Faculty of Management and Economics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia

Abstract: The volatile economic condition in Malaysia has shifted the government's focus towards the development of entrepreneurs, especially among Malaysian graduates. Crowdfunding, an online platform to obtain funding through a large pool of people could be an alternative to gain financial capital to embark on entrepreneurship. Given this, crowdfunding has taken centre stage among the upcoming graduate entrepreneurs. Employing a quantitative research method, the purpose of the study is to investigate whether crowdfunding usefulness influences entrepreneurial intention among graduates. A total of 395 graduates participated in the study by responding to an online structured questionnaire. Collected data were analysed with structural equation modelling. The findings provided evidence for a significant relationship between crowdfunding usefulness and entrepreneurial intention among Malaysian graduates. Additionally, instrumental readiness was found to partially mediate the relationship between crowdfunding usefulness and entrepreneurial intention. The findings strongly support the notion that awareness of crowdfunding usefulness will increase entrepreneurial intentions among graduates regardless of economic environmental dynamism. Therefore, future research shall discover more salient dimensions of crowdfunding and its usefulness to identify influencing factors within the crowdfunding perspective in the context of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intentions.

Keywords: crowdfunding usefulness; entrepreneurial intention; instrumental readiness; Malaysian graduates.

DOI: 10.1504/GBER.2025.147168

Global Business and Economics Review, 2025 Vol.33 No.1, pp.61 - 83

Accepted: 14 Jan 2024
Published online: 11 Jul 2025 *

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