PERCEIVED BARRIERS TO ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SELF-EFFICACY

Drawing from Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), the purpose of the study is to enhance -understanding of the intention formation mechanism within the context of perceived barriers and self-efficacy (SE). The current study assesses whether SE mediates the relationship between-perceived barriers and entrepreneurial intention (EI). The study specifically analyzed the relationship among -perceived barriers, SE and EI. In addition, the direct and indirect effects of perceived barriers on intention are examined. Based on a survey of 471 undergraduate students who have taken management courses, our findings suggest the SE level of potential entrepreneurs is not sufficient to determine the intention formation even if the decisive effect of SE on EI is found. Therefore, in contrast to earlier studies, the results obtained from this study reveal the necessity to take into account the deterrent effect of the perceived barriers to evaluating the effect of SE in the formation of EI.