Title: Impact of COVID-19 on entrepreneurial intentions of management graduates: a comparative study amongst business students in India and UAE

Authors: Mohammed Anam Akhtar; Khurram Ajaz Khan; John Amoah

Addresses: Head of Business Education, University of Southampton Delhi, India ' Department of Business, Institute of Business and Innovation, IMC Krems University of Applied Sciences, Krems, Austria ' Department of Marketing and Strategy, Takoradi Technical University, Takoradi, Ghana

Abstract: The present study has dual objectives. First is to examine how the COVID-19 affected entrepreneurial intentions of business students in India and UAE. Second is to compare the entrepreneurial intention of business students of India and UAE, and conclude whether gender, location, and specialisation depict similarities or differences in the entrepreneurial intentions during COVID-19. Researchers collected a sample of 234 business school final semester students in India and UAE. The data were analysed through SPSS, and non-parametric tests Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis were used to detect the differences. The findings revealed no differences based on gender, location, and specialisation in the entrepreneurial intentions among business school students. Instead of negatively impacting students due to the COVID-19 impact, it reflected that student have a positive inclination towards entrepreneurial intention, and results reflect that most students take the present situation as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Keywords: business students; entrepreneurship; intentions; India; UAE; COVID-19.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2025.150877

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2025 Vol.37 No.4, pp.570 - 586

Received: 16 Sep 2021
Accepted: 24 Dec 2021
Published online: 05 Jan 2026 *

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