DO ENTREPRENEURIAL ALERTNESS AND SELF-EFFICACY PREDICT CHINESE SPORTS MAJOR STUDENTS' ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION?

Entrepreneurship is encouraged among graduates of Chinese higher education institutions as a solution to the increasingly competitive job market. Guided by social cognitive theory, we explored whether entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and entrepreneurial alertness (EA) predicted the entrepreneurial intention (EI) of a sample of 364 Chinese sports major students. In addition, we examined the influence of demographic differences, namely, gender, entrepreneurial education, and previous entrepreneurial experience, on students' ESE, EA, and EI. Results showed that both EA and ESE were key cognitive predictors of participants' EI, and that demographic differences affected their ESE, and EA, and EI. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.