Title: The impact of psychological characteristics and COVID-19 on entrepreneurial intention in Malaysia

Authors: Mohammad Falahat; Tan Jie Ling; Ramayah Thurasamy

Addresses: Faculty of Accountancy and Management, Department of International Business, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Bandar Sungai Long, Selangor, 43000, Malaysia ' Department of International Business, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Bandar Sungai Long, Selangor, 43000, Malaysia ' School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia; Daffodil International University (DIU), Bangladesh; Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Malaysia; Fakulti Ekonomi dan Pengurusan (FEP), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia

Abstract: This study examines the psychological characteristics of individuals and the COVID-19 pandemic that influence entrepreneurial intention. Psychological characteristics involve individuals' innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, vision and self-efficacy. A total of 583 valid samples was collected from final year students at local and international universities in Malaysia. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique is applied, and the results show that innovativeness, risk-taking, entrepreneurial vision, self-efficacy as well as COVID-19 have a strong effect on entrepreneurial intention. Conversely, the entrepreneurial intention is not significantly being influenced by proactiveness. Nationality, age, and education level serve as control variables in this study whereas most of them do not show a significant impact on entrepreneurial intention, except age.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; psychological characteristics; innovativeness; risk-taking; proactiveness; visionary; self-efficacy; entrepreneurial intention.

DOI: 10.1504/JGBA.2021.123557

Journal for Global Business Advancement, 2021 Vol.14 No.5, pp.662 - 683

Received: 26 Oct 2021
Accepted: 26 Oct 2021
Published online: 27 Jun 2022 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article