ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION, CREATIVITY AND ENTREPRENEURIALINTENTION: MODERATING ROLE OF MENTORSHIP

Abstract

Entrepreneurial intention has become an important research area due to increasing Student
unemployment and the growing recognition of entrepreneurship as a mechanism for
economic development, innovation, and job creation. Despite the widespread adoption of
entrepreneurship education in universities, empirical findings regarding its effectiveness in
stimulating entrepreneurial intention remain inconsistent. Similarly, although creativity has
been identified as a critical antecedent of entrepreneurial behaviour, limited understanding
exists regarding the contextual conditions under which creative capabilities translate into
entrepreneurial intention. This paper develops a conceptual framework that integrates
entrepreneurship education, creativity, entrepreneurial mentorship, and entrepreneurial
intention within the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The paper proposes that
entrepreneurship education and creativity positively influence entrepreneurial intention,
while entrepreneurial mentorship strengthens these relationships by providing role
modelling, psychosocial support, networking opportunities, venture guidance, and
entrepreneurial feedback. The study extends TPB by positioning entrepreneurial mentorship
as a contextual boundary condition that enhances attitude, subjective norms, and perceived
behavioural control. The proposed framework contributes theoretically to entrepreneurship
intention literature and provides practical implications for universities, policymakers, and
entrepreneurship development agencies seeking to promote Student entrepreneurship in
developing economies such as Nigeria. Future studies are encouraged to empirically validate
the proposed relationships using Structural Equation Modelling or Partial Least Squares
Structural Equation Modelling.