Opportunity Recognition in the Digital Age: A Mediated TPB Model of College Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions

Opportunity Recognition in the Digital Age: A Mediated TPB Model of College Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Opportunity Recognition in the Digital Age: A Mediated TPB Model of College Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions Yuanrui Chen, Noorziah Mohd Salleh This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7120181/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study examines the influence of opportunity recognition on university students' entrepreneurial intentions. A theoretical framework was developed, incorporating entrepreneurial attitude, subjective norms, and perceived self-efficacy as mediating variables. Using a cross-sectional design, data were gathered from 212 undergraduate students in the Guangxi region via a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that opportunity recognition has both a direct and positive impact on entrepreneurial intention, as well as an indirect effect mediated by attitude, subjective norms, and self-efficacy. These findings extend the application of the Theory of Planned Behavior within the entrepreneurial context and offer a valuable theoretical foundation for enhancing entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions. Furthermore, the study provides key insights into the mechanisms shaping entrepreneurial intention among college students in the digital economy. Opportunity Recognition Entrepreneurial Intention College Students Digital Era Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 02 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 24 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 19 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 09 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 21 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 21 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 14 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7120181","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":499055782,"identity":"33285074-c1de-450f-b34c-44dcb90eae4b","order_by":0,"name":"Yuanrui Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universiti Teknologi MARA","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yuanrui","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":499055784,"identity":"be1f0610-ee1d-447b-a33b-cd699997d9d2","order_by":1,"name":"Noorziah Mohd Salleh","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Universiti Teknologi MARA","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Noorziah","middleName":"Mohd","lastName":"Salleh","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-14 10:38:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7120181/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7120181/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":89048394,"identity":"e20bf5f3-55e2-4aca-8747-ca2682ee4549","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-14 07:10:38","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":648535,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OpportunityRecognitionintheDigitalAge.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7120181/v1_covered_e83df903-597e-40e2-990d-50068a48838c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Opportunity Recognition in the Digital Age: A Mediated TPB Model of College Students’ Entrepreneurial Intentions","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-global-entrepreneurship-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research](https://link.springer.com/journal/40497)","snPcode":"40497","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/40497/3","title":"Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Opportunity Recognition, Entrepreneurial Intention, College Students, Digital Era","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7120181/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7120181/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eGrounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study examines the influence of opportunity recognition on university students' entrepreneurial intentions. 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