Unemployment Blues: Analysis of the Dual Mediating Effects of Knowledge and Perception on Entrepreneurial Intentions in the Environment

Abstract

The rate of youth unemployment has been a major challenge for preceding and consecutive Ghanaian governments. There is evidence to suggest how different economic interventions to bridge this gap have failed to yield the expected results. The intended beneficiaries of these interventions are caught in a quagmire of what they perceive as opportunities within the environment which are sometimes divergent from that of government. This is due to the influencing role of two main factors: their knowledge and perception. We carry out a study to reveal the relationship that exist between entrepreneurial environment and entrepreneurial intentions and how knowledge and perception of the youth mediate this relationship. A sample survey of 187 youth using questionnaires were administered and the results analyzed using the partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Overall, entrepreneurial knowledge and perception variables showed a partial mediation in their relationship with entrepreneurial environment and entrepreneurial intention. Entrepreneurial perception showed a higher mediating effect of the two mediators on the target construct, entrepreneurial intention. Entrepreneurial perception showed the highest Cronbach’s alpha of .90 of all the variables. We advance the theory of entrepreneurship intention to show how the dual mediating interactivities are influenced by the entrepreneurship environment. The need to build a supportive entrepreneurial environment is critical in transforming the youth perception to boost their knowledge in entrepreneurship to engage in business enterprises. These are critical for policy makers, implementers, and entrepreneurial trainers.

Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Mediates the Impact of the Post-pandemic Entrepreneurship Environment on College Students’ Entrepreneurial Intention

“…It has been found that the entrepreneurial environment is a significant positive predictor of entrepreneurial intentions ( Wu and Mao, 2020 ). Essel et al (2020) have found that a good entrepreneurial environment promotes entrepreneurial intentions with empirical studies. Also, some scholars have found a decline in social entrepreneurial intentions due to the epidemic.…”

Empirical Analysis of the Global Supply and Demand of Entrepreneurial Finance: A Random Utility Theory Perspective

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Unveiling the role of entrepreneurial knowledge and cognition as antecedents of entrepreneurial intention: a meta-analytic study

“…Analysis of the impact of EK on EI helped achieve a deeper understanding of the lack of a link between past experience and their desire to engage in an entrepreneurial enterprise (Karyaningsih, et al, 2020;Miralles et al, 2016). EK increases the capacity of entrepreneurs to run a business, and it can be improved through entrepreneurship education (Essel et al, 2020;Hutasuhut, 2018). According to Westhead and Solesvik (2016), students who participate in entrepreneurship education are more enthusiastic about establishing a firm than those who do not.…”