Factors Influencing Entrepreneurial Intention Among University Students in Malaysia: A Conceptual Study

Abstract

In Malaysia's rapidly evolving higher education landscape, marked by persistent graduate underemployment and a structural mismatch between graduate supply and quality job creation, this conceptual paper proposes an empirical investigation into the factors influencing entrepreneurial intention among university students in Malaysia. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as the primary theoretical framework, this conceptual paper examines eight predictors, namely attitude toward entrepreneurship, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, entrepreneurial education exposure, university support, risk-taking propensity, prior entrepreneurial exposure, and cultural values (collectivism and uncertainty avoidance), along with three demographic moderators (gender, family business background, ethnicity), and their proposed effects on entrepreneurial intention. Methodologically, this conceptual paper provides a framework for a longitudinal two-wave survey design with an embedded qualitative component, targeting final-year undergraduate students across public and private universities in five Malaysian regions such as the Greater Klang Valley, Penang, Johor, Sabah, and Sarawak. A stratified random sampling technique with proportionate allocation by region and university type is proposed, with a target sample size of 250 usable responses determined a priori using GPower software. Procedural remedies for common method variance include temporal separation of predictor and criterion variables across two waves. Theoretically, this conceptual paper extends the TPB to the under-researched Malaysian context by incorporating cultural, dispositional, and demographic moderators. Practically, the findings are intended to provide policymakers and university entrepreneurship centres with evidence-based insights to design targeted interventions that foster genuine entrepreneurial intention among students prior to graduation, thereby mitigating the persistent problem of graduate underemployment. A major strength of this paper is its rigorous methodological framework, including a priori sample size determination using GPower, explicit strategies to mitigate common method variance, and strong transparency in acknowledging limitations.