Analysing the impact of post-pandemic factors on entrepreneurial intentions: the enduring significance of self-efficacy in student planned behaviour

After the pandemic, there has still been an increased interest in examining university students' entrepreneurial goals. In this study, we looked at the practicality and validity of using self-efficacy to broaden the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in assessing students' intent to be entrepreneurs. Additionally, we looked at how students' geographic location and gender affected their plans to start their businesses. Following the epidemic, we analyzed data obtained from a number of university students in both urban and rural regions of India using PLS-SEM and ANN methods. Our study confirmed the pivotal role that university students' self-efficacy had in their entrepreneurial goals. The results of multi-group analysis (MGA) reported the insignificant moderating role of gender for the students' entrepreneurial intentions. Still, they found a statistically significant difference in their said behavior control for entrepreneurial intentions regarding location. Based on their perceived behavioral control, the findings also suggest that youths in rural areas had lower entrepreneurial inclinations than urban students. The study indicated that considering the importance of student self-efficacy, universities should focus on improving students' skill sets and problem-solving mindsets while constructing education courses.