From Transformational Leadership Tendency to Digital Entrepreneurship Intention: The Serial Mediation of Entrepreneurial Passion and Intention

In this study, transformational leadership is conceptualized not as a managerial tendency but as an individual disposition, and the effect of transformational leadership tendency on digital entrepreneurial intention is examined through a serial mediation model. In this context, entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial intention are considered as mediating variables. The sample of the study consists of 136 individuals who are senior students at a faculty of a public university in Turkey. Data were collected at two different time points ( Time 1 and Time 2 ). At Time 1, data related to demographic variables and transformational leadership tendency were gathered, while at Time 2, data concerning entrepreneurial passion, entrepreneurial intention, and digital entrepreneurial intention were collected. Subsequently, datasets containing personal codes were matched and merged. The data obtained were analyzed using Hayes’ Model 6 in the Process Macro program for hypothesis testing. The findings reveal that the effect of transformational leadership tendency on digital entrepreneurial intention occurs sequentially through entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial intention. Accordingly, it was determined how digital entrepreneurial intention is enhanced not only through leadership characteristics but also via intrinsic motivational mechanisms such as passion and intention. These results underscore the importance of entrepreneurship education and leadership development programs at the university level.