Extracurricular Activities as a Mediator Between Education and Entrepreneurial Mindset: Examining the Unobserved Heterogeneity of the Model

This article aims to uncover the nature of the relationship between entrepreneurial program (EP) and entrepreneurial mindset (EM) through the mediating role of students’ extracurricular activities (EX). A total of 240 questionnaires were collected from Umm Al-Qura University students and analyzed using SmartPLS 4.0. Validity and reliability were tested to ensure good quality data. The direct impacts of EP and the mediating role of EX on EP were estimated using regression path coefficients. Because the comparison group was unknown in advance, the finite mixture partial least squares (FIMIX-PLS) and partial least squares prediction-oriented segmentation (PLS-POS) approaches were adopted to examine the unobserved heterogeneity of the entire model. After the analysis, two groups were retained. The full data showed weak variance in the two variables. However, segment 2 confirmed high variance in both variables, and segment 1 showed moderate variance in EM but low variance in EX. The results imply that universities should integrate structured EX with formal EP, rather than relying on curricular programs alone, to strengthen the EM. The distinct segment profiles further suggest that a single, uniform intervention is unlikely to serve all students equally; universities should tailor extracurricular opportunities to differing levels of engagement and mindset development.