article · Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights
This study investigates the factors influencing green entrepreneurship intention among higher education students in tourism and hospitality, as well as its contribution to sustainable development. Using data gathered from an online questionnaire completed by 970 undergraduate and postgraduate university students in Egypt, the research examines key psychological, educational and social drivers. The analysis demonstrates that personal attitudes, subjective norms, environmental education, risk aversion, self-efficacy and environmental values all positively affect green entrepreneurship intention. Furthermore, the findings show that this intention acts as an important driver for sustainable development and serves as a mediating factor between individual antecedents and broader sustainable outcomes. These insights suggest that fostering green entrepreneurial thinking within higher education can support long-term sustainable growth.
Understanding what motivates university students to pursue eco-friendly business ventures is vital for sustainable economic growth. By identifying key factors such as environmental education and self-efficacy, educational institutions and policymakers can tailor training to encourage future tourism and hospitality professionals to launch sustainable, environmentally responsible enterprises.
The findings can be applied by higher education institutions, incubators and policymakers to design targeted entrepreneurship curricula and training programmes. While this is early-stage educational and behavioural research rather than a commercial product, the identified drivers can inform practical institutional strategies to nurture real-world green startups among graduates.
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Purpose This paper aims to examine the antecedents of green entrepreneurship intention (GEI) amongst tourism and hospitality higher education students and further explores the effect of green entrepreneurship intention on sustainable development (SD). It also investigates the mediating role of GEI in the relationship between the antecedents of GEI and SD in students' future tasks in tourism and hospitality. Design/methodology/approach Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze data collected via an online questionnaire from 970 tourism and hospitality universities' students in Egypt, either undergraduate or postgraduate. Findings The results show that green entrepreneurship intention is positively affected by attitude, subjective norms, environmental education, risk aversion, self-efficacy and environmental values. The results also revealed that green entrepreneurship intention is a significant driver for sustainable development. Moreover, the findings revealed that GEI mediates the link between the antecedents of GEI and SD. Practical implications The results offer highly persuasive insights that may be used to promote GEI and SD among tourism and hospitality students. The effectiveness of GEI in achieving SD will motivate government and educational institutions to develop GEI for university students. This study will assist policymakers in developing a novel strategy, providing a contribution to the green behavior literature in an emerging context. Originality/value The field of the green entrepreneur is uncharted and still in its infancy. As a result, further research is needed in the literature to better understand green entrepreneurship intention. Enhancing tourism and hospitality students' green entrepreneurial intentions will help the economy expand sustainably in the future because they are the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The findings hold important implications for both the research community and tourism education and business management.
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DOI: 10.1108/jhti-03-2023-0146
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