LINKING ENTREPRENEURIAL ROLE MODELS TO ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION: A CONCEPTUAL STUDY

Abstract

This conceptual study synthesizes how entrepreneurial role models shape students’ entrepreneurial intention in higher education. Drawing on Social Learning Theory, self-efficacy theory, and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), we propose that exposure to role models primarily operates through observational learning and identification processes that strengthen entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and perceived behavioural control (PBC), while also influencing attitudes toward entrepreneurship and subjective norms. Prior empirical findings generally indicate a positive, predominantly indirect association between role model exposure and intention, but effect magnitudes are heterogeneous and, in some settings, direct effects are weak or non-significant once efficacy-related beliefs are considered. To address this variability, we specify boundary conditions—conceptual limits on when and for whom the proposed mechanisms operate—that are often operationalized as statistical moderators. Specifically, gender, model–observer similarity, socio-cultural and educational context, and the content/authenticity of role-model narratives are theorized to moderate distinct links in the pathway. We conclude with mechanism-based pedagogical implications and a future research agenda centered on testing moderated mediation and strengthening causal inference.