The impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial passion and behaviour: Evidence from Indonesian MSMEs

This study examines the role of entrepreneurship education in inspiring entrepreneurial passion and how this, in turn, influences entrepreneurial intention and behavior. Using a cross-sectional design and a sample of 200 micro-, small-, and medium-sized entrepreneurs who have previously received entrepreneurship education, this study examines the influence of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention and behavior, indirectly through three dimensions of entrepreneurial passion: inventing, founding, and developing. The data were analyzed using SmartPLS software to test the hypotheses by means of a structural model. The results indicate that entrepreneurship education significantly influences all three forms of entrepreneurial passion, whereas only passion for development plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention. This indicates that while fostering participants’ passion for invention and founding may be important, entrepreneurship education programs that also nurture participants’ passion for business development are likely to produce superior outcomes in terms of entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial behavior. Accordingly, this study contributes theoretically to research on entrepreneurial passion and offers practical implications for designing effective entrepreneurship education programs.