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The role of entrepreneurial Iranian

students'
knowledge as a competence in career
intentions
shaping Iranian students’ career
intentions to start a new 83
digital business Received 22 July 2015
Accepted 31 July 2016
Ahmad Yaghoubi Farani
Bu Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
Saeid Karimi
Agricultural Extension and Education Department, Bu Ali Sina University,
Hamedan, Iran, and
Mahsa Motaghed
Bu Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

Abstract
Purpose – This purpose of this paper, drawing on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), is to develop an
integrated model of entrepreneurial career intentions incorporating the role of motivational factors along with
entrepreneurial knowledge. Specifically, this study proposes the existence of a relationship between
entrepreneurial knowledge and digital entrepreneurial intentions and asserts that this relation is mediated by
the motivational factors.
Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a sample of 150 computer sciences students
from four public Iranian universities using a questionnaire.
Findings – Results indicated that the two motivational factors (namely, attitudes towards digital
entrepreneurship and perceived behavioural control) significantly relate to digital entrepreneurial intentions.
In addition, entrepreneurial knowledge indicates indirect effects on intentions via these two motivational
factors.
Practical implications – The results of this study have clear implications for both educators and
policymakers.
Originality/value – The study helps to understand the role of entrepreneurial knowledge in shaping
digital entrepreneurial intentions through developing an integrated intention model based on the TPB. The
results also indicate that the TPB fully accounts for the indirect effects of entrepreneurial knowledge.
Keywords Theory of planned behaviour, Entrepreneurship, Competence, Digital entrepreneurship,
Entrepreneurial career intentions, Entrepreneurial knowledge
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Because of the positive effects of entrepreneurship on the promotion of innovation, creating
employment opportunities, increasing productivity and generating social and economic European Journal of Training and
wealth in a country’s economy, its promotion is viewed as a national priority by governments Development
Vol. 41 No. 1, 2017
all over the world (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000; Wong et al., 2005; Karimi et al., 2015; pp. 83-100
Sartori et al., 2013). In the recent decades, the development and advancement of information © Emerald Publishing Limited
2046-9012
and communication technologies (ICTs) have fundamentally changed business practices and DOI 10.1108/EJTD-07-2016-0054
EJTD processes. Starting and running businesses in this digital sphere mean carrying out some
41,1 kind of electronic commerce with the help of internet and other virtual networks. The new
digital economy provides exceptional opportunities for many entrepreneurs to create their
new ventures in different business areas based on electronic commerce models (Turban et al.,
2008). Considering the fact that many researchers in the field of entrepreneurship, especially
in Iran, have not studied digital entrepreneurship yet and there is a great interest in digital
84 entrepreneurship while many entrepreneurs are establishing their business based upon
technology and internet, further research is needed to clarify the concept of this subject
(Hafezieh et al., 2011).
Entrepreneurship literature shows that concrete intentions play a crucial role in making
decisions to start a new business (Krueger et al., 2000; Kolvereid and Isaksen, 2006; Kautonen
et al., 2015). The entrepreneurial career intention has been considered as a key element in
understanding the new business creation process (Bird, 1998). However, less is known about
the factors affecting entrepreneurial intentions, particularly individuals’ intentions to start a
new digital business within the Iranian context.
Entrepreneurship researchers have, therefore, adopted intentional models of social
cognition to identify the key cognitive determinants of entrepreneurial career decision and
behaviour (Linan et al., 2013; Krueger and Carsrud, 1993). One particularly well-researched
model used within this context is the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), as originally
presented by Ajzen (1991). The core factor in the TPB is entrepreneurial intention which is
assumed to be best predicted by three motivational factors (i.e. attitudes towards
entrepreneurship, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control). In addition to these
three motivational factors, there are some other factors which play a significant role in
shaping entrepreneurial intentions while not being included in the TPB. One of these factors
is entrepreneurial knowledge which the literature shows that has significant effect on
venture creation decisions and intentions (Kor et al., 2007; Lüthje and Franke, 2003; Linan
et al., 2013).
Drawing on the TPB, this study aims to develop an integrated entrepreneurial career
intention model to understand the process of new venture creation more deeply. This model
incorporates the motivational factors and the knowledge of the entrepreneurial environment.
Specifically, we investigate how entrepreneurial knowledge affects digital entrepreneurial
career intentions via motivational factors.
The present study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature in three ways. First, this
study provides a framework to explain the role of entrepreneurial knowledge in shaping
entrepreneurial career intentions in a developing country, namely, Iran. Previous research
studies in the entrepreneurship field has mainly focused on studying students’
entrepreneurial career intentions in developed countries (Karimi et al., 2015; Nabi and Linan,
2011). Second, this study responds to a call for research to investigate career intention in a
wide range of entrepreneurial scenarios (Fayolle and Linan, 2014) by capturing and
documenting digital entrepreneurship intentions (DEI). Third, this study sheds some light on
the linkage between entrepreneurial knowledge and DEI within a valid theoretical
framework, namely, the TPB. In particular, the study analyses the indirect effect of
entrepreneurial knowledge on DEI via three motivational factors. The current study offers
crucial insights into entrepreneurial training regarding these factors.

Theoretical framework and hypotheses

Career development
Super (1980) suggests that career is “the combination and sequence of roles played by a
person during the course of a lifetime” (p. 282). Career development is a major aspect of an
individual’s development, which spans the entire lifetime of the individual and concerns the Iranian
whole person. Career development is typically defined as an ongoing series of stages students'
characterized by unique concerns, themes and tasks (Greenhaus et al., 2000). A common career
underlying assumption behind these stage models of career development is that there is a
series of predictable tasks that happen at more or less predictable times during the course of intentions
a career (O’Neil and Bilimoria, 2005). Accordingly, entrepreneurial career development
means that individuals must continuously think and behave entrepreneurially to be 85
successful. Individuals can do this by acquiring knowledge and skills in recognizing and
pursuing business opportunities, establishing and managing firms and other
entrepreneurial competencies which are valuable and relevant for future career development.

Digital entrepreneurship
The increasing development of ICTs has significant impacts on both firms and markets.
ICTs are currently changing the world in a more permanent and far-reaching way than any
other technology has ever done in the history (Carrier et al., 2004). A new economy in which
knowledge is the most valuable strategic resource is forcing enterprises to reconsider their
traditional procedures and take advantage of the tools that can create new values (Serarols–
Tarrés, 2009).
According to Hull et al. (2007), digital entrepreneurship is a subcategory of
entrepreneurship in which some or all of what would be physical in a traditional firm has
been digitalized. We refer to digital entrepreneurship as the pursuit of opportunities based on
the use of digital media, internet technologies and other ICTs. Digital entrepreneurs strongly
depend on the features of digital media and ICTs to pursue opportunities (Davidson and
Vaast, 2010). Because of the rapid rise of digital activities across all industry sectors, it seems
most likely that digital entrepreneurship will become more common in the near future,
suggesting a need for a deeper understanding of this phenomenon (Matlay and Westhead,
2007; Walker, 2006).
Digital entrepreneurship is still in its infancy level, and there is more to know about this
phenomenon and the elements of the venture creation process (Carrier et al., 2004; Martin and
Wright, 2005). Scholars and policymakers are increasingly interested in the factors affecting
the decision to become an entrepreneur and understanding why some people start a digital
business, while others do not. However, we have only a limited understanding of the factors
and underlying decision processes, which motivate someone to become a digital
entrepreneur.
Our study explores this phenomenon in the context of Iranian higher education. Iran is a
developing country with a rich and ancient cultural heritage. This country has both strategic
and economic importance in the Persian Gulf and West Asian region (Karimi et al., 2015).
Iran, with a population of around 80 million and the GDP of about US$368b, is considered as
the second largest economy in the Middle East. Iran is the 18th largest country in the world,
with a large portion of its population consisting of young people. The country is also a
member of the Next Eleven[1] because of its high development potential (O’Neill et al., 2005).
With a relatively strong economic growth (about 4.8 per cent) and diverse industries, Iran
will be able to offer a great potential in digital entrepreneurship in the near future (Yasin
et al., 2014). Although there are still some major infrastructural barriers related to the
expansion of the high-speed internet services in the country, Iran is the second country to
access the internet in the Middle East, after Israel (Rahimi, 2011 as cited by Mohajerani et al.
2015), and, with more than 35 million internet users, it has the largest internet user base in the
region (IWS, 2011).
EJTD Until recently, the government monopoly on ICTs’ infrastructure controlled by the
41,1 Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has resulted in high cost and poor
quality of internet services, thereby limiting the ability of small and medium-size companies
to take advantage of e-commerce. Realizing that the lack of e-commerce has been restrained
internal as well as international competitiveness and also resulted to isolation from the
global economy (Ministry of Commerce, Islamic Republic of Iran, 2005), it seems that the
86 government has loosened its grip on control and monopoly of internet providers in recent
years. Today, there are several internet service providers offering asymmetric digital
subscriber line (ADSL) and wireless services at more affordable prices in all cities while
expanding rapidly to major villages as well (Yasin et al., 2014).

Theory of planned behaviour

Researchers have assumed that cognition has a great potential to make significant
contributions to entrepreneurship studies (Mitchell et al., 2007). Cognitive models have better
explanatory capacity than the trait and demographic approaches in entrepreneurship, as
behaviour is considered as a consequence of person-situation interactions (Linan et al., 2011).
Fortunately, cognitive models have got the researchers interested for providing the tools that
contribute to the scientific understanding of the entrepreneurial career decision and
behaviour (Baron, 2004; Mitchell et al., 2002). Entrepreneurial intention is one of the most
relevant elements within the individual’s cognitive process, leading to the start a new
venture (Krueger et al., 2000). Entrepreneurial intentions can be defined as the conscious
state of mind that precedes action and directs attention towards a goal such as establishing
a new business (Bird, 1998; Thompson, 2009).
Forming an intention to develop an entrepreneurial career is presumed the first step in the
often long process of venture creation (Gartner et al., 1994). Several models have tried to
explain entrepreneurial career intentions such as the Entrepreneurial Event Model of
Shapero and Sokol (1982), the Model of Implementing Entrepreneurial Ideas (Bird, 1998) or
Maximization of the Expected Utility (Douglas and Shepherd, 2002), to mention a few.
However, one of the most widely researched cognitive models is the TPB as originally
proposed by Ajzen (1991). In this model, it is assumed that entrepreneurial behaviour is
reasoned, controlled and planned in the sense that it takes the likely consequences of a
behaviour being considered into account. The core factor in the TPB is, therefore, the
individual intention to start a new business. Entrepreneurial intention is assumed to be best
predicted by three motivational factors:
(1) attitudes towards entrepreneurship or the positive valuation of the initiation of a new
venture;
(2) subjective norms or the pressure and approval from significant others of becoming
an entrepreneur; and
(3) PBC or the perceived ease/difficulty of becoming an entrepreneur.

Researchers have empirically used the TPB for measuring students’ entrepreneurial
intentions and confirmed that attitudes towards entrepreneurship, subjective norms and
PBC all play a significant role (Karimi et al., 2016, 2014; Linan et al., 2013; Iakovleva et al.,
2011; Moriano et al., 2012). Support is thus provided for Ajzen’s (1991) assertion that all three
motivational antecedents are vital for entrepreneurial intentions, although their relative
importance and the magnitude of their effects vary across situations and countries.
Consideration of these findings led us to the following hypotheses for the effect of Ajzen’s
motivational antecedents on DEI:
 H1. Attitudes towards digital entrepreneurship will positively relate to digital Iranian
entrepreneurial intentions. students'
H2. Subjective norms will positively relate to digital entrepreneurial intentions. career
H3. Perceived behavioural control will positively relate to digital entrepreneurial intentions
intentions.

Entrepreneurial competencies 87
Competence is a key concept in the field of entrepreneurship. From a theoretical point of view,
the term competence has been defined in various ways, depending on the context and the
perspectives adopted (Fischer et al., 1993). Sartori et al. (2015) summarize competence as a set
of knowledge, abilities and attitudes that allow people to be effective in the workplace and in
everyday life. Consequently, entrepreneurial competence can be defined as the set of
knowledge, skills and abilities that enables an entrepreneur to successfully perform the job
role (Baum et al., 2001; Man et al., 2002). In this paper, we focus on the knowledge component
of entrepreneurial competence, and it refers to our awareness of what we need to do to
perform a specific task in the field of entrepreneurship in an appropriate and effective way.

Entrepreneurial knowledge
In modern economies, knowledge is arguably the most strategically important resource of a
firm. Recent research suggests that the access to knowledge resources influences not only the
performance of nascent firms but also – and in particular – the growth and survival of
(knowledge-based) start-ups (Dohse and Walter, 2012; Unger et al., 2011). It is commonly
understood that knowledge and proper access to it are the most important resources in
entrepreneurship that is highly necessary for entrepreneurial initiatives, success and
economic sustainability (Widding, 2005). Knowledge is an important predictor because it is
commonly viewed as a precondition to volitional action (Frick et al., 2004). Researchers
suggest that entrepreneurial knowledge constitutes the heart of entrepreneurship
(Jebarajakirthy and Thaichon, 2015) and significantly affects venture creation decisions and
intentions (Kor et al., 2007; Lüthje and Franke, 2003). Additional support for this argument is
provided by a study that has been done amongst the students of a Norwegian university,
where Kolvereid and Moen (1997) demonstrate that students with entrepreneurial
knowledge have stronger entrepreneurial intentions than the others.
However, the TPB does not consider the effects of knowledge on entrepreneurial intention
research, which is a shortcoming of this theory (Peterman and Kennedy, 2003). Therefore, an
integrated intention model is needed to be formulated to explain the effects of entrepreneurial
knowledge on EI.
Building on Liñán et al.’s (2013) and Roxas’ (2014) results, we incorporate entrepreneurial
knowledge within the TPB. This is an important factor that reflects the level of knowledge
and awareness that the individual has about different aspects of establishing and managing
a new venture, from the first phase of opportunity identification, through the evaluation of
new opportunities, to the knowledge needed to found a new venture, as well as the
entrepreneurial environment and support systems. In general, greater knowledge will
directly provide a greater awareness about the existence of such a professional career option,
making the intention become an entrepreneur more credible (Linan, 2004).
Empirical studies have also indicated that a direct relationship is found to exist between
entrepreneurial knowledge and entrepreneurial intentions. For instance, Linan (2004)
reported that entrepreneurial knowledge had a direct effect on individuals’ entrepreneurial
intentions. In the study that has been done by Sommer and Haug (2010), entrepreneurial
knowledge was integrated into the TPB as a separate element and exerted a significant
EJTD positive influence on entrepreneurial intentions. Therefore, it might be expected that
41,1 entrepreneurial knowledge would be directly related to individuals’ intention to start a new
digital business:
H4. Entrepreneurial knowledge will positively relate to digital entrepreneurial
intentions.
88 According to the TPB, exogenous variables or background factors such as demographic,
personality, socio-cultural and institutional factors may indirectly influence intentions via
their effects on the three antecedents of intentions. In the field of entrepreneurship, previous
studies indicated that the three antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions are largely shaped
by exogenous factors such as personality traits, socio-cultural and institutional environment
(Linan et al., 2008; Karimi et al., 2015).
One exogenous variable, which can affect the antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions, is
entrepreneurial knowledge. Specifically, greater knowledge of different aspects of starting
and running a business will probably contribute to more realistic perceptions about the
entrepreneurial activity (Ajzen, 2002), thereby indirectly influencing intentions. In other
words, entrepreneurial knowledge may lead to favourable attitudes, subjective norms and
strong PBC relating to commencing entrepreneurship (Liñán, 2008; Souitaris et al., 2007).
Being familiar with the business environment and having knowledge about several
aspects of starting and managing a new business affect the controllability of starting up a
business and make individuals also more confident about their own capacity of becoming
entrepreneurs. Similarly, greater knowledge could contribute to a more accurate awareness
of and attraction to the entrepreneurial career route and increase social approval from
significant others (due to the support systems available in the environment) (Linan et al.,
2013). In addition to this, entrepreneurial knowledge can break down cognitive and
psychological barriers to entrepreneurial orientations and predispositions, thereby
enhancing positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship (Roxas, 2014). Weber (2012) states
that entrepreneurial knowledge reduces the ambiguity associated with entrepreneurial
undertakings, and shapes the beliefs, attitudes and overall perceptions of one’s capability to
embark on an entrepreneurial career.
Hence, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H5. Entrepreneurial knowledge will positively relate to attitudes towards digital
entrepreneurship.
H6. Entrepreneurial knowledge will positively relate to subjective norms.
H7. Entrepreneurial knowledge will positively relate to perceived behavioural control.

The mediating effects

As mentioned in the discussions presented above, previous studies have indicated that there
is a significant relationship between entrepreneurial knowledge and motivational factors
(Linan et al., 2013), and significant relationship between motivational factors and
entrepreneurial intentions (Karimi et al., 2014). Furthermore, motivational factors have been
researched and found as a mediating variable in the previous studies (Karimi et al., 2015;
Zhao et al., 2005). However, few empirical studies on motivational factors as mediators on the
relationship between entrepreneurial knowledge and DEI make it particularly valuable to
extend the body of evidence in this field. Thus, this study seeks to analyze whether
motivational factors mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial knowledge and DEI.
Therefore, it is hypothesized that (Figure 1):
 Iranian
Attitudes students'
H career
H5
intentions
Digital

Entrepreneurial H6 Subjective H2 Entrepreneurial

knowledge norms
intentions
89

H7 H Figure 1.
PBC The hypothesized
model linking
entrepreneurial
knowledge,
motivational factors
H4 and DEI

H8. Attitudes towards digital entrepreneurship will mediate the relationship between
entrepreneurial knowledge and digital entrepreneurial intentions.
H9. Subjective norms will mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial knowledge
and digital entrepreneurial intentions.
H10. Perceived behavioural control will mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial
knowledge and digital entrepreneurial intentions.

Research method
Sample and procedure
Data were collected from 200 undergraduate computer sciences students from four public
universities in Hamedan Province, Iran. The rationale for the selection of this province was
that this province is the representative of the internet infrastructure development in Iran. All
of the students were in their last year of college, and they were targeted for this reason that
students in their final year of college are facing major career decisions and known to have a
clearer vision of their futures than the other students (Krueger et al. 2000; Krueger and
Kickul, 2006).
The original questionnaire was written in English, which was modified slightly for
purposes of the present research, carefully translated into Persian and then translated back
into English to check the adequacy and fluency of the translation. The questionnaires were
then distributed among a pilot group of 28 undergraduate students to determine the
constructs’ clarity and validity. The students comprehended the translated questionnaire
after that minor changes had been applied to it.
With the approval and cooperation of the lecturers, the questionnaires were distributed
for voluntary completion by the students at the beginning of a class session. The students
were given 20 min to complete the questionnaire and received a small gift for doing so. A total
of 168 questionnaires was completed, which is a response rate of 84 per cent. The completed
questionnaires were screened for missing data and outliers (Hair et al., 2010), and after this
validation process, 150 useful responses were obtained.
The sample consisted of 72 male students (48 per cent) and 78 female students (52 per
cent). There were more females in the sample because more females were enrolled in the
degree programmes than males, and about 60 per cent of the Iranian university population in
EJTD general is female. The majority of the respondents were between 21 and 25 years of age (75
41,1 per cent) and the average age was 22.74 years. About 45 per cent students had
entrepreneurial role models in their circle of family, relatives and friends, and 20 per cent
reported having experience in digital entrepreneurship.

Measures
90 This study adopted items from Linan et al. (2013) questionnaire to measure the constructs of
the TPB because of its established construct reliability and validity, as well as its relevance
to the purposes of the current study. The items were slightly modified to match the study
context. Entrepreneurial intentions were measured by six items. A sample item asks, “I’m
ready to do anything to be a digital entrepreneur”. Five items were used to measure attitudes
towards digital entrepreneurship. A sample item states, “Being a digital entrepreneur would
give me great satisfaction”. PBC was measured by six items. A sample item states, “I know
the necessary practical details to start a digital firm”. Subjective norms were measured by
three items. A sample item asks, “My close family would approve of my decision to start a
digital business”. Finally, entrepreneurial knowledge was measured through ten items,
describing the extent of one’s knowledge in various aspects of starting and managing a
business and as well entrepreneurial environment knowledge. These items were culled from
several sources (Linan et al., 2013; Roxas, 2014). Two sample items state, “I have sufficient
knowledge in recognition of opportunity”. and “I have sufficient knowledge about specific
training for young entrepreneurs”.
All items (aside from demographic characteristics) were measured using a seven-point
Likert scale between “1=’ representing “strongly disagree” and “7=’ representing “strongly
agree”.

Control variables
According to the TPB, exogenous variables including the demographic characteristics of
individuals can be expected to indirectly influence (and thereby, predict) their behavioural
intentions via the antecedents to behavioural intentions (Zhao et al., 2005; Liñán et al., 2011).
Information on four demographic background variables was therefore collected in the
present study: age, gender; experience in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial role models.

Analysis
We analyzed data using the SPSS 20 software package. We have evaluated descriptive
statistics to describe characteristics of our participants and have used Cronbach’s alpha as
reliability estimates across all subscales. Statistical analyses included testing the correlation
(Pearson’s r) among the various variables and running multiple regression analysis. The
mediation model was tested using the most prevalent method (Baron and Kenny, 1986;
Preacher and Hayes, 2004) in testing mediation.
According to Baron and Kenny (1986) and Preacher and Hayes (2004), a mediation model
needs to meet the following four steps:
(1) the independent variable (entrepreneurial knowledge) is directly related to mediating
variables (the three antecedents of DEI);
(2) the independent variable (entrepreneurial knowledge) is directly related to dependent
variable (DEI);
(3) the mediating variable (the three antecedents of digital EI) is directly related to
dependent variable (DEI); and
(4) a significant relationship between the independent variable (entrepreneurial
knowledge) and dependent variable (DEI) is reduced (partial mediation) or no longer
 be significant (full mediation) when controlled for the mediator (the three antecedents Iranian
of DEI) (Baron and Kenny, 1986; Preacher and Hayes, 2004). students'
In addition to this, we also conducted the Sobel test with an additional bootstrapping career
procedure[2] to confirm the significance of the mediation model. intentions

Results
First, an exploratory factor analysis was used. One item related to DEI, one item related to
91
attitudes and one item related to PBC were eliminated because their factor loadings were
below 0.5 or their cross loadings were greater than 0.4. A new factor analysis was performed
for the 23 remaining items. All loadings, after the elimination of the items noted above, were
acceptable (⬎0.5), providing further support for the instrument used in this study. A high
value of KMO measure of sampling adequacy (KMO ⫽ 0.861, higher than the minimum of
0.60) and highly significant Bartlett test of sphericity (␹2: 958.168; Significance: p ⬍ 0.001)
indicated that the data and sample were adequate and suitable for conducting the
exploratory factor analysis (Hair et al., 2010).
Cronbach’s alphas were next calculated. As it can be seen in Table I, the reliability values
were all close to or above the value of 0.70, which meets the acceptable limits, indicating that
the measurement scales of the constructs were stable and consistent (Hair et al., 2010).

Correlations
Table I also presents the means, standard deviations and correlations among the variables.
As mentioned above, the scales used to measure the variables were seven-point Likert scales,
where 4 is the indifference value. Values below 4 (the midpoint of the scales) represent
somewhat negative values in the scale, and above 4 are positive values. As can been seen in
Table I, the mean scores for the TPB variables, except subjective norms, are above the
intermediate value of 4. However, the mean value for entrepreneurial knowledge is on the low
side (Mean ⫽ 2.75), indicating that the participants’ knowledge for the entrepreneurial
environment is very low.
Among the control variables, having entrepreneurial role models and entrepreneurial
experience have been associated with DEI. Age and gender, in contrast, have shown no
association with the outcome variable. With respect to the motivational factors described in
the TPB, namely, attitudes, social norms and perceived behavioural control, all variables
correlate positively with intentions, which is in line with our conceptual model. As expected,
there are also positive and significant correlations between entrepreneurial knowledge and
the TPB factors. Among all variables, perceived behavioural control (r ⫽ 0.62, p ⬍ 0.01) and
attitudes towards digital entrepreneurship (r ⫽ 0.52, p ⬍ 0.01) have the strongest correlation
with DEI. Although most variables show a statistically significant correlation, the
examination of variance inflation factors (VIFs) indicates no evidence of multicollinearity.

Regression analysis
While simple correlations showed that some independent variables were positively related to
entrepreneurial intentions, a three-stage hierarchical multiple regression was the principal
technique of analysis used to assess the hypotheses, as it allows us to test for mediation and
control for the demographic characteristics – placed in the first step of the regressions. The
procedure that examines the presence of mediation among a set of variables requires the
specification of three different regression equations (Baron and Kenny, 1986). In the first
equation, Model 1, the mediating variables are regressed on independent and control
variables. In the second equation, Model 2, the dependent variable is regressed on
 92
41,1
EJTD

Table I.

variables
deviations and
Mean, standard

correlation for all

bivariate Pearson
Variable Mean SD ␣ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Digital Entrepreneurial intentions 4.70 1.54 0.84

Attitudes towards digital entrepreneurship 5.48 0.88 0.69 0.52**
Subjective norms 3.79 1.73 0.78 0.40** 0.14
Perceived behavioural control 4.11 1.46 0.78 0.62** 0.40** 0.42**
Entrepreneurial knowledge 2.75 0.83 0.83 0.20* 0.22** 0.05 0.34**
Age 22.74 2.76 0.06 0.07 0.05 0.12 0.06
Gender 0.49 0.50 0.08 0.16 –0.05 0.31** 0.11 0.31**
Working experience 0.19 0.39 0.23** 0.23** 0.17* 0.43** 0.28** 0.30** 0.33**
Role model 0.45 0.49 0.28** 0.26** 0.31** 0.41** 0.18* 0.22** 0.29** 0.33**

Notes: ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (two-tailed); * correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (two-tailed)
independent and control variables. And in the third equation, Model 3, the dependent Iranian
variable is regressed on independent, mediating and control variables. students'
In a series of three regression equations (Step 1), the three motivational factors are
regressed separately on entrepreneurial knowledge. Results indicates that entrepreneurial
career
knowledge is positively and significantly related to attitudes towards digital intentions
entrepreneurship (Model 1a: ␤ ⫽ 0.19, p ⬍ 0.05) and perceived behavioural control (Model 1c:
␤ ⫽ 0.27, p ⬍ 0.01), thus H5 and H7 are supported and the first necessary condition for a
mediating effect to exist is fulfilled. However, the relationship between entrepreneurial 93
knowledge and subjective norms is not significant (Model 1b: ␤ ⫽ 0.03, p ⬎ 0.05), thus H4 is
not supported and not providing support to continue further mediation tests for this model.
In the second step, DEI (dependent variable) is regressed on entrepreneurial knowledge
(independent variable). Results indicate that entrepreneurial knowledge is positively and
significantly related to DEI (Model 2: ␤ ⫽ 0.17, p ⬍ 0.05). Thus, the second condition for the
mediating effect is fulfilled.
In the third step, DEI is regressed on the three motivational factors (Model 3). Although
there is no significant relationship between subjective norms and DEI (H1: ␤ ⫽ 0.07, p ⬎
0.05), results for Model 3 in Table II indicate support for H1 and H3. In other words, attitudes
towards digital entrepreneurship (␤ ⫽ 0.42, p ⬍ 0.01) and perceived behavioural control (␤ ⫽
0.61, p ⬍ 0.01) are significantly and positively associated with DEI. Thus, the mediators
affect the dependent variable and the third condition for the mediating effect is fulfilled.
Two regression analyses were applied in the fourth step. In Model 4a, DEI was regressed
on the control variables, entrepreneurial knowledge and PBC. In Model 4b, attitudes are
replaced by PBC. Table II reports the results of the regression equations. In both cases, the
independent and dependent variables were not related in the presence of the mediator
variable, which demonstrated a full mediation.
Moreover, a bootstrapping procedure estimates the (unstandardized) indirect effect of
entrepreneurial knowledge on DEI via attitudes towards digital entrepreneurship to lie
between 0.07 and 0.45 with 95 per cent confidence and via PBC to lie between 0.27 and 0.66
with 95 per cent confidence. As a consequence, the indirect effects are significantly different
from zero at p ⬍ 0.05. Furthermore, following the ideas of MacKinnon et al. (2002), the Sobel
test statistic for mediation for each model is calculated to provide additional evidence
regarding mediation within each model (Sobel, 1982). z-Values verified a significant full
mediation both in the case of attitudes (z ⫽ 2.61, p ⬍ 0.01) and in the case of perceived
behavioural control (z ⫽ 4.07, p ⬍ 0.01). Thus, these results confirmed the mediating role of
attitudes and perceived behavioural control in the relationship between entrepreneurial
knowledge and DEI, and that the four conditions were fully met, thus providing strong
support for H8 and H10.
Additionally, a final model regressing all control, independent and mediating variables
on DEI is conducted (Model 4). When all of the mediating variables are loaded in Model 6,
entrepreneurial knowledge is not significant anymore. Thus, H4 is not supported. This full
model explains a very significant amount of the variance (r2 ⫽ 67 per cent).

Discussion
The purpose of this study is to explore the means by which entrepreneurial knowledge
shapes digital entrepreneurial intentions via an integrated intention model based on the TPB
(Ajzen, 1991). The majority of the hypotheses are supported and the model explained a
highly satisfactory percentage of the variance in digital entrepreneurial intentions.
Results of the present study indicate the magnitude of the effects of the different
antecedents of digital entrepreneurial intentions varied in our study. This finding is in
 DEI
94
41,1
EJTD

Table II.

study variables on
Mediated regression of
Motivational factors DEI
Model 1a Model 1b Model 1c Model 2 Model 3 Model 4a Model 4b Model 5
Variables Attitudes Subjective norms PBC

Age ⫺0.04 (⫺0.44) ⫺0.01 (⫺0.11) ⫺0.07 (⫺0.94) ⫺0.03 (⫺0.39) 0.03 (0.52) ⫺0.01 (⫺0.17) 0.02 (0.36) 0.03 (0.54)
Gender 0.05 (0.62) ⫺0.18* (⫺2.08) 0.14 (1.84) ⫺0.04 (⫺0.41) ⫺0.14* (⫺0.2.52) ⫺0.07 (⫺1.01) ⫺0.15 (⫺2.35) ⫺0.14* (⫺2.57)
Experience 0.10 (1.12) 0.12 (1.29) 0.22** (2.84) 0.12 (1.31) ⫺0.09 (⫺1.62) 0.06 (0.81) ⫺0.06 (⫺0.84) ⫺0.07 (⫺1.31)
Role model 0.22* (2.55) 0.32** (3.79) 0.31** (4.18) 0.26 (3.03) ⫺0.04 (⫺0.64) 0.13 (1.87) 0.02 (0.22) ⫺0.05 (⫺0.93)
Entrepreneurial knowledge 0.19* (2.31) 0.03 (0.42) 0.27** (3.75) 0.17* (2.07) 0.06 (0.89) ⫺0.04 (⫺0.65) ⫺0.08 (⫺1.56)
Attitudes 0.42** (8.03) 0.57** (8.33) 0.43** (8.20)
Subjective norms 0.07 (1.34) 0.07 (1.21)
PBC 0.61** (9.69) 0.69** (11.25) 0.63** (0.98)
Sobel test for mediations 2.61** 4.07**
R2 0.13 0.13 0.34 0.13 0.68 0.41 0.54 0.69
Adjusted R2 0.10 0.10 0.32 0.10 0.66 0.39 0.52 0.67
R2 0.29** 41** 0.21
F 4.21** 4.24** 15.09** 4.19** 43.49** 16.71** 27.63** 38.77**
line with the assertions of Fishbein and Ajzen (2010) who argue that the antecedents of Iranian
behaviour can vary considerably and sometimes even be non-significant depending on students'
situational and contextual factors. Of the three antecedents of DEI included in our model, career
perceived behavioural control proved most important and subjective norms proved least
important (not significant) for the prediction of DEI. This shows the entrepreneurial intentions
career decisions of Iranian students to depend more on individual considerations than on
social or normative considerations (Karimi et al., 2014). This finding is also in line with 95
the findings of Moriano et al. (2012) and Karimi et al. (2016, 2014), who both showed
subjective norms to be the weakest predictor of entrepreneurial intentions in Iran. It is
thus possible that the making of entrepreneurial career decisions is of such importance
that young people are not likely to be heavily influenced by the opinions of others. It is
also possible that the influence of subjective norms on entrepreneurial career intentions
is mainly indirect (i.e. via attitudes and PBC).
In addition, support is found to be for the mediating effects of attitudes towards
entrepreneurship and PBC on whether individuals intend to start their own digital business.
For each model, the mediation variables fully mediated the relationship between
entrepreneurial knowledge and digital entrepreneurial intentions as supported by Fishbien
and Ajzen’s (2010) contention that exogenous variables such as the knowledge of the
entrepreneurial environment can indirectly influence intentions via their effects on the
antecedents of intentions. More specifically, entrepreneurial knowledge is related to PBC,
indicating greater entrepreneurial knowledge contributes to the sense of capacity of business
creation. In other words, the entrepreneurial knowledge directly provides help for boosting
self-confidence and feeling able to engage in entrepreneurial behaviour and perceiving
controllability of that behaviour (Linan et al., 2013). This finding is strongly consistent with
those of Linan et al. (2013) and Roxas (2014).
These findings have several implications that can be helpful in both theory and
practice. First, this study extends the entrepreneurial careers literature by investigating
intentions in the field of digital entrepreneurship. Second, the study helps to understand
the role of entrepreneurial knowledge in shaping digital entrepreneurial career
intentions through developing an integrated intention model based on the TPB. Our
results indicate that the TPB fully accounts for the indirect effects of entrepreneurial
knowledge. Third, the results confirm the strong effects of attitudes and PBC on
students’ DEI. In this sense, policies to encourage digital entrepreneurship among
university students should focus more on improving these proximal determinants of
entrepreneurial intentions. Related to this point, it was shown in more general research
that interventions targeting psychological characteristics as described in the TPB are
efficacious in changing intentions and behaviour among participants who, prior to the
intervention, did not think about performing the behaviour or were disinclined to do so
(Fishbein and Ajzen, 2005). Finally, the effects of entrepreneurial knowledge on attitudes
and PBC suggest that education initiatives should take this into consideration to
promote the emergence of entrepreneurial activity in digital space. Policymakers and
educators should consider what they can do to enhance the level of students’
entrepreneurial competencies, particularly their knowledge about the entrepreneurial
environment and various aspects of starting and managing a digital business. Measures
may include raising awareness of students of support systems via the media and
enhancing their knowledge about aspects of starting a digital business through different
educational activities such as seminars, workshops and formal university-based
training courses (Linan et al., 2013; Souitaris et al., 2007).
EJTD Limitations and future directions
41,1 At this point, some possible limitations on the present study can be mentioned as directions
for future research. First, the study was cross-sectional. Firm conclusions about the direction
of causality for the variables included in our model, therefore, cannot be drawn. The
assumption that exogenous variables – such as entrepreneurial knowledge – shape
motivational factors, and thereby behavioural intentions in the end is both theoretically and
96 empirically well-grounded with other models, proving less plausible, but longitudinal study
is nevertheless needed to precisely represent the influence of entrepreneurial knowledge and
competence on observed changes in the components of the TPB and entrepreneurial
intentions over time. Via more than just a “snap shot” of entrepreneurial intentions, and thus
longitudinal study, the intentions– behaviour link in the context of digital entrepreneurship
can also be tested in the future.
A second possible limitation is that the data we collected was all self-report data and
collected from a single source (i.e. questionnaire), there is thus a potential for common
method bias. Although we tried to minimize possible bias and other common method
variance issues in several ways (Podsakoff et al., 2012), it is nevertheless unlikely that all
common method bias was eliminated from our study. Further effort should be made to
remove possible bias by using multiple data sources in future research.
Finally, our study examines students in Iranian universities. Thus, our findings may be
mostly generalizable to higher education students in other developing countries. However,
our integrated framework can also be applied in different contexts for comparison and other
purposes.

Notes
1. The Next Eleven (known also by the numeronym N-11) are the 11 countries – Bangladesh, Egypt,
Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey, South Korea and Vietnam –
identified by Goldman Sachs investment bank and economist Jim O’Neill in a research paper as
having a high potential of becoming, along with the BRICs, the world’s largest economies in the
twenty-first century.
2. An SPSS-macro provided by Preacher and Hayes (2004) is used to conduct the mediation test.

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Further reading
Aldrich, H., Jones, T.P. and Mcevoy, D. (2005), “Ethnic advantage and minority business development”,
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Karimi, S., Chizari, M., Biemans, H.J.A. and Mulder, M. (2010), “Entrepreneurship education in Iranian
higher education: the current state and challenges”, European Journal of Scientific Research,
Vol. 48 No. 1, pp. 35-50.

Corresponding author
Ahmad Yaghoubi Farani can be contacted at: yaghoubi@basu.ac.ir

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