Opportunity recognition as a precursor to the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention within the context of gender and the university environment and support system

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationship between opportunity recognition (OR) and the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention (EI) while exploring gender differences in these relationships within the context of university environment and support System (ESS). A dual-stage approach was used to analyze partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and structural causal models (SCM). The PLS-SEM revealed significant direct effects of ESS on OR. It also showed a direct effect of OR on the precursors of intention: attitude toward behaviour, subjective social norms, and perceived behavioural control. Finally, the regression revealed gender moderation in the relationship between ESS and OR. Surprisingly, gender did not moderate between OR and the antecedents of entrepreneurship. The SCM further confirmed the direct causal effect of OR on the antecedents of entrepreneurship. More importantly, the current findings suggest that OR could be positioned as a precursor to antecedents of EI. This study was carried out among 389 university students in Atlantic Canada. No study to date has explicitly considered the effect of OR the antecedents of entrepreneurship. Additionally, to the author's knowledge, it is the first study in entrepreneurship to combine PLS-SEM with structural models using extracted latent variable scores.