The impact of study demands and self-efficacy on perceived creativity and entrepreneurial intentions: A longitudinal study

Creativity is a commonly assumed outcome of entrepreneurship education, and is a crucial, though not sufficient, prerequisite for entrepreneurial success. Building on the study demands-resources model, this study investigates how study demands and self-efficacy influence students' well-being and, subsequently, their perceived creativity and entrepreneurial intentions. A longitudinal survey was conducted among 518 students at three time points during an innovation and entrepreneurship course. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized relationships and to analyze complex mediation and moderation effects over time. The results showed that challenge demands, such as a challenging learning environment and clearly defined goals and standards, enhanced study engagement. Conversely, hindrance demands, such as role conflict and emotional demands, led to study exhaustion. Self-efficacy played a dual role by boosting study engagement and reducing study exhaustion, although unexpectedly intensifying the negative effect of role unclarity on exhaustion. Moreover, higher study engagement fostered entrepreneurial intentions indirectly through increasing perceived creativity. These findings provide empirical insights into how the study environment influences students’ outcomes and offer practical implications for designing more effective teaching pedagogy of entrepreneurship education. • A challenging learning environment, clear goals and standards and students' self-efficacy predict higher study engagement. • Hindrance demands, including role conflict and emotional demands, and lower levels of self-efficacy predict more study exhaustion. • The relation between role conflict and exhaustion is stronger for students scoring higher on self-efficacy. • Study engagement positively predicts students' entrepreneurial intentions over time through higher self-perceived creativity. • Study exhaustion did not predict self-perceived creativity or students' entrepreneurial intentions over time.