Harnessing Creativity for Enterprise: Self-Efficacy as Catalyst.

Abstract

Purpose: The study examined the interplay between self-efficacy, creative potential, creative anxiety, and students' entrepreneurial intent in the creative sector. Design/methodology/approach – the paper, anchored on the Componential Model of Creativity, adopted a quantitative approach involving 378 students selected based on the UK’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s definition of the creative sector and randomly sampled students using a simple random technique. Data analysis utilised partial least squares structural equation modelling. Research limitation: This paper explored constructs based on creative potential, creative anxiety, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial intention. Future research should examine the relationship between creative anxiety and innovation. Findings: This paper demonstrated that creative potential and entrepreneurial self-efficacy significantly predict students' entrepreneurial intention and self-efficacy significantly mediates the relationship between creative potential and entrepreneurial intention and between creative anxiety and entrepreneurial intention. Practical Implication: The study outlines the importance of government agencies ensuring a conducive social environment through supportive policies to ensure the employability of students who possess the requisite creative potential and self-efficacy and wish to act on their entrepreneurial intentions. Social Implication: Identifying and addressing creative anxiety should be part of the enterprise education curriculum. Students who often opt for programs without prior experience may experience high anxiety in school. Educators should guide such students by gradually raising their self-efficacy to help them overcome creative anxiety. Originality/value: The study demonstrates the effect of creative anxiety and the double mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy in enterprise education.