BEYOND DEMOGRAPHICS: PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF-APPRAISALS AND INDIVIDUAL ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN AN EMERGING ECONOMY

This study examines whether individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) differs across demographic groups and whether psychological self-appraisals are associated with IEO in a student-dominant sample from Gujarat, India. A cross-sectional survey yielded 429 usable responses. IEO was measured with the ten-item Bolton–Lane scale covering risk-taking, innovativeness and proactiveness. State self-esteem and seven entrepreneurial self-ratings were also assessed. Reliability analysis, exploratory component analysis, Kruskal–Wallis tests, Spearman correlations and hierarchical ordinary least-squares regression with HC3 robust standard errors were used.Findings – Overall IEO was moderately high (M=3.776, SD=0.479) and internally consistent (α=.748). Sampling adequacy was strong (KMO=.860; Bartlett χ²(45)=971.430, p<.001), although the reverse-worded innovativeness item weakened the intended subscale. Age, education, family income and role did not significantly differentiate overall IEO or its dimensions. Entrepreneurial confidence had the largest convergent association with overall IEO (ρ=.419, p<.001), followed by persistence (ρ=.369), satisfaction (ρ=.356), mindset (ρ=.348) and opportunity proactivity (ρ=.345). State self-esteem contributed incremental explanatory power beyond demographics, especially performance and appearance self-esteem.Research limitations/implications – The non-probability, geographically concentrated and student-dominant sample limits population inference. Cross-sectional self-reports do not support causal claims. The reverse-worded item requires cognitive testing before future bilingual administration. Entrepreneurship education should develop confidence, persistence, opportunity enactment and reflective self-appraisal rather than segmenting learners mainly by demographics. The study positions IEO within an entrepreneurial-agency framework, distinguishes demographic context from proximal psychological self-appraisals, and identifies a reverse-wording measurement artefact relevant to cross-context scale use.