Factors influencing the sustainable entrepreneurial intention of university students from an emerging economy in Latin America: evidence from the theory of extended planned behavior

The subject of sustainable entrepreneurship has been the focus of extensive research in recent years, due to the benefits it offers in terms of sustainable development at the national level. Nevertheless, a knowledge gap persists regarding the factors that influence university students’ intentions to engage in sustainable entrepreneurship, despite advancements in the assessment of values and moderating factors such as educational support and commitment to sustainability. The objective of this study is to examine the factors that shape the sustainable entrepreneurial intentions of university students in the city of Medellín, Colombia. To this end, an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is employed in a sample of 350 university students. The results are analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings substantiate the assertion that TPB factors exert a significant influence on students’ sustainable entrepreneurial intentions, particularly in relation to perceived control over behavior and social norms. Moreover, students tend to be more motivated by extrinsic rewards and demonstrate a greater inclination to consider both future and immediate consequences, as well as intrinsic rewards in relation to control. This study makes a significant contribution to the advancement of the theory on sustainable entrepreneurial intention in the Colombian context. It provides a theoretical model that can be replicated in other emerging regions, thus expanding knowledge on the factors that influence sustainable entrepreneurship at the university level.