IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i10p4600-d1658083.html

Changes Regarding Entrepreneurial Intent Among Young Romanian Students in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Roxana Adriana Heteș

    (Department of Finance, Information Systems and Business Modelling, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timișoara, Romania)

  • Delia Anca Gabriela Gligor

    (Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timișoara, Romania)

  • Cecilia Nicoleta Jurcuț

    (Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timișoara, Romania)

  • Mariana Predișcan

    (Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timișoara, Romania)

  • Roxana Nadina Bucurean

    (Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timișoara, Romania)

Abstract

This study leverages the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to investigate the variations in entrepreneurial intent (EI) among Romanian students, before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. By examining the interactions between attitudes, social norms (SocNorms), and perceived behavioral control (PBC), as represented in the TPB framework, we aimed to uncover what factors promote or hinder students’ decisions to pursue entrepreneurship. We examined these relationships across two cohorts (2018 and 2023) using structural equation modeling (SEM) on data collected through an online survey from a total sample of 383 Romanian bachelor students. Our findings indicate that PBC is a significant predictor of EI for both cohorts; however, attitudes have shown a direct but reverse influence for the 2023 group. This cohort, faced with isolation, unemployment, and resource shortages, has adapted by cultivating an innovation and perseverance mindset, positioning entrepreneurship as a viable solution. This study is one of the few longitudinal comparative investigations of EI in Romania during a significant societal crisis, offering insights into the evolving dynamics of young entrepreneurs, which can inform educational strategies and policies designed to nurture a new generation of resilient entrepreneurs.

Suggested Citation

  • Roxana Adriana Heteș & Delia Anca Gabriela Gligor & Cecilia Nicoleta Jurcuț & Mariana Predișcan & Roxana Nadina Bucurean, 2025. "Changes Regarding Entrepreneurial Intent Among Young Romanian Students in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-30, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:10:p:4600-:d:1658083
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4600/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4600/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Magaji Abdullahi Usman & Xinbo Sun, 2022. "Global Pandemic and Entrepreneurial Intention: How Adversity Leads To Entrepreneurship," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, September.
    2. Elena-Aurelia Botezat & Alexandru Constăngioară & Anca-Otilia Dodescu & Ioana-Crina Pop-Cohuţ, 2022. "How Stable Are Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions in the COVID-19 Pandemic Context?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Anca Elena Lungu & Ioana Andreea Bogoslov & Eduard Alexandru Stoica & Mircea Radu Georgescu, 2021. "From Decision to Survival—Shifting the Paradigm in Entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-23, July.
    4. Renata Dana Nițu-Antonie & Emőke-Szidónia Feder & Vladimir Nițu-Antonie & Róbert-Károly György, 2023. "Predicting Sustainable Entrepreneurial Intentions among Romanian Students: A Mediated and Moderated Application of the Entrepreneurial Event Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-22, March.
    5. Elena-Loreni Baciu & Delia Vîrgă & Theofild-Andrei Lazăr & Delia Gligor & Cecilia-Nicoleta Jurcuț, 2020. "The Association between Entrepreneurial Perceived Behavioral Control, Personality, Empathy, and Assertiveness in a Romanian Sample of Nascent Entrepreneurs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-16, December.
    6. António Porfírio, José & Augusto Felício, José & Carrilho, Tiago & Jardim, Jacinto, 2023. "Promoting entrepreneurial intentions from adolescence: The influence of entrepreneurial culture and education," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francis Lwesya & Eliza Mwakasangula, 2023. "A scientometric analysis of entrepreneurship research in the age of COVID-19 pandemic," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Dafna Kariv & Carlo Giglio & Vincenzo Corvello, 2025. "Fostering Entrepreneurial intentions: exploring the interplay of education and endogenous factors," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Bogdan Marculescu & Laura Brancu & Grațiela Georgiana Noja & Simona Mirela Cristea & Marius Ioan Pantea, 2025. "Entrepreneurial Intentions in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Psychological and Demographic Factors," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(6), pages 18612-18647, December.
    4. Márton Gosztonyi & Csákné Filep Judit, 2022. "Profiling (Non-)Nascent Entrepreneurs in Hungary Based on Machine Learning Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Anca Elena Lungu & Mircea Radu Georgescu & Daniel Juravle, 2024. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Digital Entrepreneurship," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(4), pages 18617-18645, December.
    6. Uma Shankar Yadav & Ravindra Tripathi & Mano Ashish Tripathi & Indrajit Ghosal & Ashish Kumar & Mitu Mandal & Akanksha Singh, 2023. "Digital and innovative entrepreneurship in the Indian handicraft sector after the COVID-19 pandemic: challenges and opportunities," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-40, December.
    7. Kyriakopoulos, Panagiotis & Herbert, Kendall & Piperopoulos, Panagiotis, 2024. "I am passionate therefore I am: The interplay between entrepreneurial passion, gender, culture and intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    8. Peng Han & Yuqiang Guo & He Li & Nan Li & Yanzhao Tang, 2025. "Why Employees Need Entrepreneurship Education Even If Never Start a Business: A Career Attitude Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(3), pages 21582440251, September.
    9. Wijekoon Mudiyanselage Heshani Kaushalya Bandara & Hapugoda Achchi Kankanamge Nadee Sheresha Surangi & Kumudu Jayawardhana, 2025. "A Systematic Literature Review on Entrepreneurial Growth Intentions: Emerging Themes and Future Research Agenda Through a TCCM Lens," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(3), pages 21582440251, September.
    10. Veronica Margarita Trillo-Espinoza & Galina Volkovitckaia & Sergei Chernov, 2025. "The relationship between labor migration and entrepreneurship during the recovery of national economies after the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-29, December.
    11. Julian Vasilev & Rosen Nikolaev & Tanka Milkova, 2023. "Transport Task Models with Variable Supplier Availabilities," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-12, July.
    12. Alberto Vidal-Vilaplana & María Huertas González-Serrano & Josep Crespo-Hervàs, 2025. "Exploring elite athletes’ entrepreneurial intentions: unraveling the impact of high-level sports career in skills development," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-31, December.
    13. Adnan Riaz & Saira Mahmood & Naveed Ahmed Khan & Rasool Bux, 2025. "Does family motivation cause entrepreneurial behavior? Examining an integrated model for entrepreneurial success," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 5(11), pages 1-25, November.
    14. Mariacarmela Passarelli & Giuseppe Bongiorno, 2025. "Is it the time to reshape entrepreneurship education? State-of-the-art and further perspectives," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-35, December.
    15. Mendez-Picazo, María-Teresa & Galindo-Martin, Miguel-Angel & Perez-Pujol, Rafael-Sergio, 2024. "Direct and indirect effects of digital transformation on sustainable development in pre- and post-pandemic periods," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    16. M. Isabel González-Ramos & Fátima Guadamillas & Beatriz Ortiz & Mario J. Donate, 2025. "Contextual factors and psychological determinants for the development of entrepreneurship intention: an international study," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-32, December.
    17. Saurav Chandra Talukder & Zoltan Lakner & Ã goston Temesi, 2025. "Entrepreneurship Education and Sustainable Entrepreneurial Intention: The Mediating Role of Attitudes and the Moderating Role of Prior Entrepreneurial Experience," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, October.
    18. Ming Wang & Jaewon Choi, 2022. "How Web Content Types Improve Consumer Engagement through Scarcity and Interactivity of Mobile Commerce?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    19. M. Malathi & Pulidindi Venugopal, 2025. "Entrepreneurial intention and engagement in entrepreneurship education," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-20, December.
    20. Phuong Ngoc-Duy Nguyen & Huan Hong Nguyen, 2024. "Examining the Role of Family in Shaping Digital Entrepreneurial Intentions in Emerging Markets," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(1), pages 21582440241, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:10:p:4600-:d:1658083. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.