Exploring the determinants of entrepreneurial career intention among university graduates: A systematic literature review

While many university graduates face uncertainty in seeking employment, entrepreneurial career intention provides an alternative career pathway to self-reliance and economic contribution. Despite growing interest and scholarly recognition, the literature remains fragmented. The systematic literature review aims to identify the existing literature on entrepreneurial career intention, focusing on the most influential studies on university graduates that can benefit from promoting entrepreneurship as a career path. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flowchart was used, yielding 84 documents in the Scopus database that were searched for publications from 2005 to 2025. A further 26 articles were screened for in-depth review and analysis. Four main influential factors have emerged to deal with the research questions, including individual psychological, cognitive and skill-based factors, social and environmental influences, and educational and motivational factors. Policy scholars, government, and researchers will benefit from this study by understanding the determinants of entrepreneurial career intention.