Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the consequences of the economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the entrepreneurial intentions of academic students. In addition, this research examined whether the pandemic reinforces the tendency to operate new businesses or represents a barrier to the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was conducted with a sample of university students. Risk perception and contextual variables were measured. Information was collected from 308 university students enrolled at the University of Sfax (Tunisia) who participated by responding to a structured questionnaire distributed in electronic form by email.

Findings

The results show that university students perceive higher levels of personal entrepreneurial risk than other types of entrepreneurial risks (financial risk and social risk). Perceived financial risk only has a significant effect on entrepreneurial intention for students who view the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity. Regarding perceived contextual support, only perceived educational support has a significant and positive effect on entrepreneurial intention.

Research limitations/implications

The results have important practical implications for identifying entrepreneurial intentions. They indicate that universities have an essential role in providing educational support for students by implementing awareness and training programs for entrepreneurship. Furthermore, they reveal the differentiated effect of the COVID-19 crisis on the risk perceptions of participants according to their views of the crisis as a threat or as an opportunity.

Originality/value

This is one of few studies that have examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (positive or negative) on the entrepreneurial intention of academic students.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19大流行期间大学生的创业意向

目的

本研究的目的是调查 COVID-19 大流行造成的经济冲击对学术学生的创业意图的影响。此外，这项研究还检验了这种流行病是加强了经营新业务的趋势，还是成为了追求创业机会的障碍。

设计/方法/方法

这项研究是在大学生样本中进行的。测量了风险感知和背景变量。信息是从在斯法克斯大学（突尼斯）注册的 308 名大学生收集的，他们通过电子邮件以电子形式分发结构化问卷，参与其中。

发现

结果表明，与其他类型的创业风险（财务风险和社会风险）相比，大学生对个人创业风险的感知程度更高。对于将 COVID-19 危机视为机遇的学生而言，感知到的财务风险只会对创业意图产生重大影响。关于感知的情境支持，只有感知的教育支持对创业意愿有显着的正向影响。

研究限制/影响

研究结果对于确定创业意图具有重要的实际意义。他们表明，大学通过实施创业意识和培训计划，在为学生提供教育支持方面发挥着重要作用。此外，他们揭示了 COVID-19 危机对参与者风险感知的不同影响，这取决于他们将危机视为威胁还是机遇的看法。

原创性/价值

这是少数研究 COVID-19 大流行（正面或负面）对学术学生创业意图的影响的研究之一。