Education-Related Entrepreneurial Competence, Resource-Opportunity Accessibility, Self-Efficacy, and Entrepreneurial Intention: Evidence from a Vocational College in Yiwu, China

Entrepreneurship education (EE) is often linked to entrepreneurial intention (EI) through entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), but resource-rich vocational settings may also shape whether students perceive resources and opportunities as accessible. Using survey data from 322 vocational students in Yiwu, China, this cross-sectional single-institution study estimates a partial Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT)-informed composite model. The model distinguishes an education-related entrepreneurial competence core (EE-core), a competence-based resource-opportunity accessibility (ROA) proxy, ESE, and EI. EE-core was positively associated with ESE (β = 0.257, p < 0.001), and ESE with EI (β = 0.257, p < 0.001). The bootstrapped EE-core-ESE-EI indirect association was positive but small (β = 0.066, 95% CI [0.025, 0.121]). ROA was also positively associated with EI after accounting for EE-core and ESE (β = 0.150, p = 0.028) and remained positive after controlling for gender and grade (β = 0.143, p = 0.039). An exploratory bootstrap contrast showed no clear difference between the direct ROA estimate and the EE-core-ESE-EI indirect estimate. The EI model explained 12.9% of variance. Findings should be interpreted cautiously because ROA is a competence-based proxy and the data are cross-sectional, self-reported, and drawn from one institution.