EE represents a prototypical form of such learning experiences in entrepreneurial contexts, as it systematically exposes students to entrepreneurial tasks, problem-solving situations, and career-related role models (Duong, 2021; Nabi et al., 2017). Through these structured experiences, students are encouraged to actively consider entrepreneurship as a viable career option rather than a distant or abstract possibility (Xu et al., 2023).

Accordingly, EE is expected to contribute directly to the formation of EI by increasing students’ cognitive involvement in entrepreneurial exploration and career decision making. This theoretical expectation is consistent with prior empirical evidence showing that participation in EE programs is positively associated with EI across different educational settings (Li et al., 2021; Xu et al., 2023).

In entrepreneurial contexts characterized by uncertainty and delayed feedback, goal-directed regulation becomes particularly salient, as individuals must commit to entrepreneurship as a meaningful career goal before stable efficacy beliefs or outcome expectations are fully formed. From this perspective, GO represents a concrete manifestation of personal goals that governs how individuals engage with entrepreneurial learning experiences and regulate effort toward entrepreneurial careers (Tran & Von Korflesch, 2016; Wang & Huang, 2022).

Empirical research has demonstrated a significant relationship between EE and GO. Studies indicate that structured entrepreneurship programs enhance individuals’ learning and performance GO by fostering skill development and achievement motivation (Frese et al., 2016; Piperopoulos & Dimov, 2015). Furthermore, GO has been identified as a critical predictor of EI, with individuals exhibiting strong learning GO showing greater persistence in entrepreneurial pursuits (Hmieleski & Baron, 2008; Zhao et al., 2005). A longitudinal study revealed that GO mediated the relationship between entrepreneurship course participation and subsequent EI development (Nabi et al., 2017).

Studies have shown that individuals with strong GO tend to possess a more positive attitude toward opportunity recognition and demonstrate higher EI (Anwar et al., 2023; Botha & Bignotti, 2017). Moreover, research within the framework of the opportunity recognition model indicates that individuals with high levels of BI can more quickly identify hidden market gaps (Ardichvili et al., 2003) and also recognize a greater number of higher-quality opportunities (Shepherd & DeTienne, 2005). While these findings might suggest that BI would strengthen the GO-EI relationship, we argue that BI actually exerts a negative moderating effect. Individuals with high BI possess sophisticated mental frameworks for evaluating entrepreneurial opportunities, thereby reducing their reliance on goal-oriented motivational processes (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). When business acumen is well-developed, decision-making becomes more calculative and analytical, potentially bypassing the motivational pathways typically activated by GO. Advanced BI enables individuals to recognize the complexity, risks, and resource requirements of entrepreneurial ventures more accurately (Ardichvili et al., 2003). This enhanced awareness may paradoxically dampen entrepreneurial enthusiasm by revealing challenges that less insightful individuals might overlook, thus weakening the positive impact of goal-directed motivation on intentions. Moreover, individuals with higher BI are better positioned to evaluate alternative career paths and their relative attractiveness, potentially diverting goal-oriented motivation toward non-entrepreneurial pursuits that appear more viable (Baron & Ensley, 2006).

Empirical evidence supporting this negative moderation is emerging. Liu (2024) found that the effect of learning GO on EI was attenuated among students with greater business exposure. Similarly, Shane and Venkataraman (2000) theorized that sophisticated BI might paradoxically weaken the positive correlation between performance orientation and EI by prompting critical opportunity evaluation.

From a Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) framework, EE aims to cultivate opportunity recognition, resource coordination, and risk navigation capabilities that are central to entrepreneurial activity (Nabi et al., 2017). However, SCCT suggests that the influence of learning experiences on career outcomes is not automatic. The effectiveness of EE in fostering EI depends on how learners cognitively process, internalize, and regulate these educational inputs rather than on exposure alone.

EI, as the focal outcome of this study, reflects an individual’s cognitive commitment to pursuing entrepreneurship as a viable career option (Lent et al., 1994). Within SCCT, career intentions are commonly explained through outcome expectations, which refer to individuals’ anticipated evaluations of the rewards, risks, and consequences associated with a particular career path (Lent & Brown, 2013). However, in early-stage entrepreneurial decision making, especially among university students, such outcome expectations are often weakly structured and highly uncertain (Krueger et al., 2000).

Nevertheless, in EE settings, students’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy is often provisional and unstable, as it is formed in the absence of sustained performance experience and reliable feedback (Piperopoulos & Dimov, 2015). Without repeated opportunities to engage in real entrepreneurial practice, self-efficacy beliefs may fluctuate substantially and fail to capture how individuals actually engage with challenging entrepreneurial tasks (Hmieleski & Baron, 2008).

Within the SCCT framework, GO can be understood as an intention-proximal self-regulatory mechanism that operates upstream of EI formation (Lent & Brown, 2013). By focusing on GO, the present study emphasizes how EE shapes students’ motivational engagement and goal-directed regulation, which in turn determines whether educational experiences are translated into EI (Nabi et al., 2017). This conceptualization does not deny the relevance of self-efficacy, but reflects a theoretical decision to foreground a regulatory mechanism that is particularly salient at the early, exploratory stage of entrepreneurial career development.

In the present study, BI is conceptualized as a contextually acquired cognitive resource reflecting individuals’ understanding of market dynamics, opportunity structures, and entrepreneurial feasibility. As such, BI operates as a contextual condition rather than as a self-regulatory mechanism. Differences in BI influence how individuals interpret entrepreneurial goals and evaluate their feasibility, thereby shaping the extent to which goal-oriented motivation is converted into EI.

Taken together, by integrating EE as a learning experience, GO as an intention-proximal self-regulatory mechanism, and BI as a contextual condition, the present study advances a context-sensitive application of SCCT to EI formation. The proposed conceptual framework illustrates how EE influences EI through the mediating role of GO and the moderating role of BI, highlighting the joint contribution of motivational regulation and contextual cognition in shaping entrepreneurial career decisions.

China’s EE system has developed a unique hybrid model that combines central policy guidance with local practical innovation (Wu & Benson, 2016). Since the “Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation” strategy in 2014, EE has become a national priority, with over 95% of universities establishing compulsory entrepreneurship courses by 2023 (Fei & Tee, 2024). However, this rapid expansion reveals significant contradictions: the conflict between Confucian exam-oriented educational traditions and experiential teaching models, and the persistent “knowledge-action gap” reflected in high student EI (68%) versus low actual startup rates (<5%) after graduation (Li et al., 2021; Lv et al., 2021).

Importantly, China’s collectivist cultural values amplify peer network influences on EI, while guanxi-based resource allocation mechanisms position social capital as a critical success factor (Wu & Song, 2019; Xiong et al., 2023). These contextual features highlight the necessity of investigating how universal psychological mechanisms such as GO interact with China’s unique institutional-cultural environment in shaping EI.

Goal of the study

This study tested a moderated mediation model in which EE positively influences EI both directly and indirectly through GO, with BI moderating the second stage of mediation. The conceptual model of the study is presented in Figure 1. Based on this framework, the following hypotheses are proposed:

H1. Entrepreneurship education is associated with higher entrepreneurial intention among Chinese undergraduate students.

H2. Goal orientation mediates the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention among Chinese undergraduate students, such that higher entrepreneurship education is associated with higher goal orientation, which in turn is associated with higher entrepreneurial intention.

H3. Business insights moderates the relationship between goal orientation and entrepreneurial intention, such that the effect of goal orientation on entrepreneurial intention is weaker when business insights is higher.

Participants were 1097 Chinese undergraduate students from a comprehensive university in Fujian Province, China (68.5% female; M_age = 20.13 years, SD = 1.14). In terms of grade level, 16.2% (n = 178) were first-year students, 44.4% (n = 487) were sophomores, 31.0% (n = 340) were juniors, and 8.4% (n = 92) were seniors, indicating a predominance of sophomores and juniors in the sample.

Entrepreneurship education. EE was measured using a three-item scale developed by Walter and Block (2016). A sample item stated, “My school education gave me skills and know-how that enable me to run a business.” Participants rated each item on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Scores from the scale demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.93).

Entrepreneurial intention. EI was measured using a five-item scale assessing participants’ inclination toward pursuing an entrepreneurial career (Liñán & Chen, 2009). A sample item is, “A career as an entrepreneur is attractive to me”. Participants responded to each item on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Higher scores reflected stronger EI. In the present study, EI scores exhibited good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.87).

Goal orientation. GO was measured using a five-item scale designed to assess individuals’ approach to setting and striving for entrepreneurship-related goals (Okolie et al., 2021). Participants rated each item on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). A sample item is “I set the right goals for my organization”. Higher scores indicated a stronger goal-oriented mindset. In the present study, the scale demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.89).

Business insights. BI was assessed using a five-item scale originally developed by Ozgen and Baron (2007) and subsequently refined by Tang et al. (2012). A sample item is, “I can easily recognize business opportunities when they arise”. Participants responded to each item on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Higher scores indicated a greater level of BI. In the present study, BI scores demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.90).

Covariates. To account for their potential influence on EI, we controlled for gender (0 = male, 1 = female), age, academic grade level, and prior entrepreneurial experience (0 = no, 1 = yes) in all analyses.

Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the ethics committee of the SEGi University (Approval No. SEGiEC/SR/FOELPM/265/2024-2025), and the study was conducted in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided informed consent, with the assurance that the data collected would be used solely for research purposes. Data were collected via online questionnaires hosted on Wenjuanxing (www.wjx.cn).

Means, standard deviations, and correlations are presented in Table 1. All study variables were significantly inter-correlated (rs ranging from 0.489 to 0.686, all p < 0.01).

The total effect analysis (Model 4, controlling for the covariates) indicated that EE was significantly associated with EI (B = 0.678, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.636, 0.721]), explaining a substantial proportion of the variance in EI. This finding supports Hypothesis 1, demonstrating that higher levels of EE are associated with higher levels of EI among Chinese undergraduate students.

Mediation analysis (Table 2) indicated that EE was positively associated with GO (B = 0.451, p < 0.001), and GO was positively associated with EI (B = 0.279, p < 0.001). The total effect of EE on EI was significant (B = 0.678, p < 0.001) and remained significant after including GO (B = 0.553, p < 0.001). The indirect effect through GO was significant (B = 0.126, 95% CI [0.089, 0.169]), indicating partial mediation. Hypothesis 2 was supported.

Moderated mediation analysis revealed a significant GO × BI interaction (B = −0.056, p = 0.003, 95% CI [−0.093, −0.020]), supporting Hypothesis 3. Simple slope analyses (Figure 2) showed that the GO-EI association was stronger at low BI levels and weaker at high BI levels.

Conditional indirect effect analyses indicated that the indirect effect of EE on EI via GO varied across BI levels: at low BI (−1 SD), B = 0.111, 95% CI [0.071, 0.153]; at mean BI, B = 0.091, 95% CI [0.054, 0.131]; at high BI (+1 SD), B = 0.072, 95% CI [0.033, 0.113]. The index of moderated mediation was significant (B = −0.026, 95% CI [−0.046, −0.008]).