Fear of failure, procrastination, and academic performance in higher education

Indonesia’s national strategy toward Indonesia Emas 2045 places higher education at the forefront of human capital development to support long-term economic transformation. However, university enrollment has not translated into proportional academic success or employability, revealing behavioral barriers such as academic procrastination. This study investigates the relationship between Disorganization and Academic Performance, with Academic Procrastination as a mediator and Fear of Failure as a moderator. Data were collected from 2111 higher education students across East and Central Java from August to December 2024 and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling with SmartPLS 4. The findings reveal that Disorganization significantly increases Academic Procrastination (β = 0.158; t = 6.606; p < 0.001), which in turn negatively affects Academic Performance (β = –0.118; t = 4.180; p < 0.001). Academic Procrastination partially mediates the relationship between Disorganization and Academic Performance (β = –0.019; t = 3.415; p = 0.001). Contrary to expectations, Fear of Failure weakens rather than strengthens the effect of Disorganization on Procrastination, suggesting a ceiling effect in high-anxiety students (β = –0.255; t = 16.585; p < 0.001). The study contributes to Social Cognitive Theory by positioning procrastination as a behavioral consequence of cognitive disarray and emotional overload. Practically, it highlights the urgency for higher education institutions to implement executive function training and emotional resilience programs, especially for full-time students in transitional and socially evaluative. Practically, it urges universities to implement structured executive-function and time-management training, integrate emotional-resilience programs into student support services, and employ early detection mechanisms for procrastination risk through learning-management-system analytics. These interventions are especially crucial for full-time students in transitional and socially evaluative academic environments.