Effects of risk perceptions and contextual support on entrepreneurial intention: Evidence from the Covid-19 Era

Abstract

This paper contributes to the entrepreneurial intention (EI) literature by applying an extension of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) in an under-researched Zambian context. Specifically, this study examines the influence of risk perceptions and contextual support during COVID-19 on the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of university students. To achieve this aim, the study employed a quantitative correlational research design to collect data from public and private university students in Copperbelt, Zambia. The study collected data from 401 undergraduate students in Zambia’s second-largest city, Kitwe. Despite the sample emanating from only one city, the findings imply that risk perceptions and contextual support together with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) elements effectively predict Zambian undergraduates' entrepreneurial intention during COVID-19. This has many training and entrepreneurial support implications for educators, policymakers and scholars.