The Role of Resilience and Theory of Planned Behavior Components in Shaping Entrepreneurial Intentions: A Study Among Business Students at IPS

Abstract

Entrepreneurial intention (EI) is shaped by a combination of cognitive and psychological factors. This study investigates how resilience and the three components of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) – Personal Attitudes (PA), Subjective Norms (SN), and Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC) – influence EI among undergraduate business students at the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (IPS). A quantitative approach was employed, using a structured questionnaire that combined the Entrepreneurial Intention Scale developed by Liñán and Chen (2009) with the Resilience Scale proposed by Campbell-Sills and Stein (2007). Data from 128 students were analyzed using factor analysis to confirm construct validity, followed by linear regression to test the proposed hypotheses. The results demonstrate that PA and PBC are strong positive predictors of EI, while SN has a weaker, though still significant, effect. Additionally, resilience shows a moderate but significant positive impact on EI, supporting its role as a relevant psychological contributor to entrepreneurial motivation. These findings reinforce the validity of the TPB framework while highlighting the added value of resilience. The study suggests that entrepreneurship education should not only address cognitive determinants but also integrate strategies that foster students’ psychological adaptability to better prepare them for entrepreneurial challenges.