Exploring the Formation of Sustainable Entrepreneurial Intentions among Chinese University Students: A Dual Path Moderated Mediation Model

As Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) gain traction in Chinese society, fostering sustainable entrepreneurship among university students has emerged as a key priority for universities and governments. Methods for increasing students’ sustainable entrepreneurship skills and knowledge for the creation of sustainable startups have attracted substantial attention. This study constructs a moderated mediation model based on entrepreneurial cognition theory to investigate the mediating roles of opportunity identification and attitude in the relationship between sustainable entrepreneurship education and sustainable entrepreneurial intention among university students, in addition to the moderating effect of empathy. The study surveyed 307 students from universities in the Yangtze River Delta region and employed hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that sustainable entrepreneurship education enhances students’ sustainable entrepreneurial intention by fostering their opportunity identification and attitude, and this enhancement effect is stronger when their level of empathy is higher. These findings enrich entrepreneurial cognition and empathy theories within the context of sustainable entrepreneurship and offer valuable insights for universities and policymakers in developing strategies to support sustainable entrepreneurship among university students.