Entrepreneurial Passion and Entrepreneurial Career Choice: A Study of Omani Undergraduate Student

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to look at how students' entrepreneurial career choices are influenced by their entrepreneurial passion using the Social Cognitive Career Theory as a framework. Methodology: 215 students enrolled in a private institution in the Sultanate of Oman were surveyed. The predicted relationships were examined using a structural equation model (SEM) analysis using partial least squares (PLS). Using PROCESS MACRO, a serial mediation analysis was performed to identify the indirect effects of the mediators in the study model. Findings: The results demonstrate that entrepreneurial passion has a significant influence on entrepreneurial outcome and self-efficacy. The results of the mediation study further demonstrated the existence of full mediation, whereby entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial outcome expectation fully mediate the association between entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial job choice in a sequential manner. Implications for Practice: The findings indicate a need for pupils to acquire entrepreneurial passion. The study findings also suggest that when teaching an entrepreneurship course, students should be oriented to specific areas of business that they are interested in rather than being oriented to general scenarios of business starts. Originality/Value: The study uncovered a connection between entrepreneurial passion, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial outcome expectations, and entrepreneurial job choice. Additionally, the study validated a serial mediating model, which indicated that entrepreneurial passion indirectly promotes entrepreneurial job choice via entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial outcome expectation. This serial mediation effect has not been studied in the existing literature on entrepreneurship career choice.