Investigating how individual entrepreneurial orientation impacts entrepreneurial intention: The mediating role of positivity and moderating affect of institutional support among university students

As the global economy evolves, fostering student entrepreneurship has become a pivotal objective for educational institutions and policy makers, particularly in emerging economies like India. Owing to which, this study unravels the multifaceted factors influencing the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of students by illuminating the role of positivity (POS) as a mediator and institutional support (IS) as a moderator within the relationships. Through employing a validated questionnaire, data were collected from 303 student respondents specializing in management and engineering across India. The hypothesized model was rigorously tested using the partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM) approach. Results reveal a positive correlation between individual entrepreneurial orientation (Ind.EO) and EI, with POS as a complete mediator in this relationship. Furthermore, IS significantly enhances the impact of POS on EI, intensifying the connection when support is abundant and diminishing it when scarce. This research presents a holistic perspective on the boundary conditions and mechanisms by which personality traits and contextual elements shape students’ EI within the Indian milieu. The pioneering aspect of this study lies in the introduction of POS as a mediating factor and IS as a moderating factor in the Ind.EO–EI and POS–EI relationships, a novel exploration not previously undertaken.