The Roles of Entrepreneurship Education, Self-Motivation, and Perceived Relational Support in Shaping University Students’ Entrepreneurial Readiness

Abstract

This study aims to examine the roles of entrepreneurship education, self-motivation, and perceived relational support in shaping entrepreneurial readiness. An explanatory quantitative survey design was employed. The study population comprised all 200 participants in the first cohort of the Certified Independent Study in E-Commerce (SIB E-Commerce) program. Using simple random sampling and the inverse square root method to determine the minimum sample size, 87 valid responses were obtained and analyzed. The proposed research model was tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), with moderation analysis performed in SmartPLS 3.0. The findings reveal that entrepreneurship education, self-motivation, and perceived relational support each exert positive and statistically significant effects on entrepreneurial readiness, both individually and collectively. However, perceived relational support does not significantly moderate the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial readiness, suggesting that other contextual or individual factors may play a more influential role in strengthening this relationship. These findings contribute to the growing literature on entrepreneurial readiness by highlighting the importance of educational, motivational, and relational factors in preparing university students for entrepreneurial careers while identifying promising directions for future research on the mechanisms through which entrepreneurship education translates into entrepreneurial readiness.