Entrepreneurs have a crucial role in monetary exchanges and contribute to economic progress. Entrepreneurs are the engine of economic development due to their role in spurring the economy (Voda and Florea, 2019). Entrepreneurship practices differ across countries due to political, social, and economic variances (Naz et al., 2020). To date, some entrepreneurs are committed to improving the environment by driving innovative changes, efficiency, and better advancement (Osiri et al., 2019). Most university students are bound to join the labour force after graduation, and some students may turn into entrepreneurs and significantly contribute to Malaysia’s financial progress (Mahmood et al., 2019). In fact, the past decade has witnessed an exciting development within the entrepreneurial segment as undergraduate and postgraduate students displayed a keen interest in entrepreneurship (Kim et al., 2018).

The provision of employment opportunities is one of the fundamental aims of entrepreneurs, with entrepreneurship turning into a common vocation path (Schmitt et al., 2018). Entrepreneurship has become a compelling career choice amongst undergraduates worldwide (Voda and Florea, 2019), including Malaysia. The Malaysian government has initiated various undertakings to encourage involvement in innovative activities, especially among the youth, especially to support its financial development (Mahmood et al., 2020). The varying supporting structures and systems demonstrate the significance of entrepreneurship to the Malaysian economy.

As the global economy continues to shift, organisations need to continually rethink their business sectors, rebuild their activities, and alter their plans of action to remain competitive (Akhtar et al., 2020). Numerous countries worldwide, including Malaysia, have faced unemployment issues (Ahmad and Buchanan, 2015). Seeking a job is challenging as organisations progressively search for and retain skilled workers (Bagheri, 2017). The limited availability of jobs has forced the youth to compete for these positions. Unemployment rates continue to increase with the number of job seekers exceeding the job supply (Aloulou, 2016). Technology nurtures new business opportunities that only the knowledgeable and educated individual can indemnity and reap benefits (Kreuzer et al., 2021). The technology can help offer the right solution for the unemployed competing against one another for limited job openings (Hassan et al., 2020).

In Malaysia, the unemployed registered individual touches all time high 718,000 due to COVID-19 and later Movement control order (MCO). Whereas the unemployed graduate reaching the 200,000 limit due lack of economic activities and COVID-19 (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2021). As a result, the Malaysian government has urged the youth to participate in entrepreneurial activities to increase the rate of Total Early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) (Mahmood et al., 2020). Notably, the TEA rates are relatively low among those residing across the Asia Pacific and South Asia. Since Asians are more inclined to work as paid employees, it is pertinent to encourage them to be job creators instead of job seekers by unravelling their hidden potential to innovate to create financial and business values (Roxas, 2014). Entrepreneurs need to keep up with the rapidly evolving, varied, and competitive business climates. Entrepreneurial activities enhance human resources, which are critical in supporting a country’s economic progress (Li et al., 2020). Besides facing challenges and identifying opportunities, exposure to entrepreneurship may develop and hone one’s relationship-building abilities, authority, advancement, inventiveness, perseverance, and independence (Ploum et al., 2017). Equipping individuals with these entrepreneurial capacities and cultivating entrepreneurship can help boost financial development, apart from creating new ventures, wealth, and business opportunities (Newman et al., 2019). Entrepreneurial activities help achieve the government’s aspiration in bridging the gap between the poor and the rich, besides reducing people’s dependency on government assistance, which ultimately can reduce the burden on taxpayers (Wei et al., 2019).

Given the limited employment opportunities in light of the world financial crises, the Malaysian government has emphasised the need for graduates to be acquainted with entrepreneurship. The government hopes to increase the number of business entrepreneurs among university graduates, as this group possesses the capacity and knowledge to get involved in the business (Mahmood et al., 2020). Hence, it is imminent to ascertain entrepreneurial intention (ENIN) among graduates to realise the government’s aspiration. The present study assessed the factors that influenced ENIN among university students in Malaysia. Identifying the intentions of university students may facilitate the government in providing initiatives that promote entrepreneurial activities.

The present study adopted a quantitative and cross-sectional design to gather data from university students in Malaysia aged 18 to above 30 years via an online survey. The cross-sectional research design is a quick and economical way for researchers to capture vast data (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Since the survey tool was developed from past studies and distributed to the target population using Google form, questionnaires were employed in this study. The current quantitative study sheds light on the variables that could influence ENIN, eventually influencing entrepreneurial behaviour.

The explanatory research approach was embraced to assess factors that determined the ENIN of university students in Malaysia. The collected data were analysed using the SmartPLS software, while descriptive statistics were applied to examine the determinants of the ENIN of university students in Malaysia. This study used G-Power 3.1 to determine the required sample size. Based on the power of 0.95 (social and behavioural science research requires a value above 0.80) and the effect size of 0.15, the ideal sample size should be at least 156 for a model with nine predictors (Faul et al., 2007). Data were collected from 391 university students via an online survey to hinder issues related to the small sample size.

The first hypothesis (H₁) tested the correlation between university students’ NFA and ATE. The outcome revealed that students’ NFA displayed a significantly positive effect on their ATE. The current coincides with the finding posted by Akhtar et al. (2020) that the personal NFA harnesses the ATE. People with higher NFA show eagerness to become successful entrepreneurs (Karabulut, 2016). Next, the second hypothesis (H₂) assessed the correlation between university students’ RTP and ATE. The analysis suggests that the RTP did not exert a statistically significant effect on ATE. The current finding contradicts the finding conveyed by Mahmood et al. (2020) that personal RTP instigates the ATE. Hence, the current finding suggests that the Malaysian students were unwilling to take risks, handle uncertainty, and assume personal risks to pursue entrepreneurship as a career. Following, the third hypothesis (H₃) confirmed the positive and significant impact of PRP on the ATE. The outcome accord with the result posted by Voda and Florea (2019) that the PRP facilitates the individual to engage in change initiation and builds the necessary inclination to engage in entrepreneurship. Subsequently, the fourth hypothesis (H₄) examined the effect of students’ SLE on the ATE. The result suggests that SLE significantly instigates the ATE among the study samples. The current finding agrees with the result postulated by Newman et al. (2019) that the SLE capacities harness the attitude to uptake entrepreneurship activities and empower people to perform better in organisational settings. Akhtar et al. (2020) stated that individual SLE instigates the individual inclination to engage in an entrepreneurship venture.

Following, the fifth hypothesis (H₅) assessed the path between ENE and ORC to identify the impact of entrepreneurship education on the entrepreneurial capacity of opportunity recognition. As a result, ENE had a significantly positive impact on the ORC. The current outcome accord with finding suggested by Wei et al. (2019) that formal education empowers the student to identify the entrepreneurial opportunities that later instigates the entrepreneurial venture. Hassan et al. (2020) also identify that formal entrepreneurial education helps the Indian student’s capacity to formally research and realise the existing entrepreneurial opportunities or develop new business opportunities. Next, the sixth hypothesis (H₆) examined the path between UNA and ORC to determine capabilities in bearing uncertainty that had affected the ability to recognise opportunities. The study institute that UNA exerted a significantly positive relationship with university students’ ORC. The present finding agrees with the outcome reported by Şahin et al. (2019) that UNA helps the opportunity recognition to develop the new business endeavour or engage in innovative or higher risk-taking business initiatives. Following, the seventh hypothesis (H₇) explored the path between ENK and ORC to ascertain the effect of ENK on students’ capabilities in opportunities recognition. The study outcome disagrees with the finding posted by Farani et al. (2017) that the Malaysian students’ ENK did not build the student capacity to build, manage and grow the entrepreneurial ventures.

Next, the eighth hypothesis (H₈) assessed the path between university students ATE and ENIN. As a result, the university students’ ATE displayed a significantly positive effect on ENIN. The finding is consistent with the outcome reported by Ibrahim et al. (2017) that the people with an ATE nurture the ENIN to engage in entrepreneurial ventures. Lastly, the hypothesis (H₉) inspected the path between university students’ ORC and ENIN to determine. The outcome accord with the result documented by Bagheri (2017) that opportunity recognition is the integral attribute of an entrepreneurial mindset and facilitates the individual to form entrepreneurial ventures and work progressively.

The current study found that students ATE had a significant mediating effect in the relationship between the NFA and ENIN for the mediating analysis. The result depicts that the attitude facilitates the NFA on the ENIN. Next, the mediational effect of attitude between the PRP and entrepreneurial orientation was significant. The finding offers that the attitude significantly influences PRP’s effect on ENIN. Following, the significant mediational effect of attitude exists between SLE and ENIN. The finding suggests that the relationship between the RTP and ENIN is insignificantly mediated by ATE. It suggests that the risk-taking was not predicting the attitude for entrepreneurship, not instigating the ENIN.

However, the mediational effect of opportunity recognition between the ENE and ENIN was insignificant. The finding offers that the opportunity recognition did not transmit the effect of entrepreneurial education on the ENIN. Next, the insignificant mediational effect of ORC exists between UNA and ENIN. Lastly, the opportunity recognition also insignificantly mediates the relationship between ENK and entrepreneurship intention.

The entrepreneurship literature elaborates the application of TPB as a framework in examining the effects of ATE, social norms, and PBC on ENIN and entrepreneurial behaviour (Mahmood et al., 2020). Nonetheless, only a handful of studies had evaluated the peripheral factors, such as ENE, ENK, and the ability to recognise opportunities among prospective entrepreneurs (Naz et al., 2020). The relationship between opportunity recognition and ENIN (Kreuzer et al., 2021). According to Lortie and Castogiovanni (2015), it is relatively unknown how opportunities recognition may fit into an entrepreneurial model through the lens of TPB.

The current study had assessed the effect of ATE (generated from NFA, RTP, PRP, and SLE) and ORC (generated from ENE, UNA, and ENK) harnessing the ENIN among Malaysian university students. Therefore, by examining new latent constructs that have been scarcely discussed, the current study offers new insight and enriches the entrepreneurship literature.

The study outcomes uphold the TPB model by demonstrating the positive effect of entrepreneurship attitude on students’ ENIN (Mahmood et al., 2019). The present work extends the understanding of the role of ATE in mediating the personality trait variables, namely NFA, PRP, and SLE, on the ENIN. Nevertheless, the ATE had no mediating effect on the correlation between RTP and ENIN. Additionally, ENE and UNA significantly affected ORC, while ENK had no significance. It was revealed that ORC exhibited no significant effect on students’ ENIN. Besides, ORC had no mediating effect on the relationships of ENE, UNA, and ENK with ENIN. These show that entrepreneurs, at times, can perceive opportunities after having the intention to become entrepreneurs.

In terms of practical implications, the study results offer insights into students’ ENIN and the factors that could motivate them to generate the ENIN. The government, universities, and other related institutions should support the growth of entrepreneurial activities in Malaysia. The Malaysian government may apply the study outcomes to devise and regulate policies in facilitating and reinforcing entrepreneurial activities (Mahmood et al., 2020). Entrepreneurial activities can boost economic growth and productive employment, whereby socio-economic issues such as income gap and unemployment may be effectively addressed by encouraging entrepreneurship (Bagheri, 2017).

The study findings demonstrated that students’ ATE had positively affected their ENIN. Therefore, universities and educational institutions should promote entrepreneurship by designing entrepreneurship courses, curriculums, and programmes to pique students’ interest in entrepreneurship as a career. Moreover, universities should provide a learning environment that is conducive, positively challenging, proactive, and able to increase students’ confidence to become entrepreneurs so that the students will have a positive ATE, thus boosting their ENIN. Similarly, this study revealed the significant positive effect of NFA, PRP, and SLE on ATE. Although this study had focussed on university students as the main subject, the outcomes may apply to students of other educational institutions in Malaysia, including secondary schools, mainly because nurturing entrepreneurial skills should start before students enter universities.

Most importantly, this study sheds light that entrepreneurship is a viable career path for university students who will soon graduate and join the workforce. This study highlights the best personality traits to develop for entrepreneurs, such as the NFA, PRP, and SLE. As such, students should gain exposure to external factors, including ENE and UNA, to strengthen their ability to perceive opportunities.

The factors, such as misalignment of skills, lack of employment opportunities, an economic downturn, have prevented people’s ability to gain employment (Kim et al., 2018). The number of those unemployed in Malaysia is increasing, and there is a widening gap of incomes between the top 20% (T20) and bottom 40% (B40) groups of the Malaysian population (Mahmood et al., 2019). In particular, fresh graduates from universities without working experience will have difficulty securing a job in this competitive environment. Entrepreneurship drives economic prosperity, employment, and innovation cycle (Hassan et al., 2020). Hence, people have begun to choose entrepreneurship as their career path (Bagheri, 2017).

The study emphasises the significance of the ATE—generated from the NFA, PRP, and SLE—as a predictor of ENIN. The outcomes are in line with the TPB framework adopted in this study. Nonetheless, RTP displayed no significant effect on ATE and ENIN. Additionally, it was revealed that ORC was significantly affected by ENE and UNA but not by ENK. These findings demonstrate that ORC is not a predictor of ENIN, as some may intend to become entrepreneurs even before they recognise the opportunities.

The present study is not without limitations. In the current work-study, 391 university students from Malaysia were selected as respondents, and the online media platform was applied to disseminate the survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was not evenly distributed due to several factors stemming from the respondents’ demographic characteristics having slight variances. Hence, the study’s findings have good generalisation to university students in Malaysia with varying characteristics like family income, parent engagement in an entrepreneurial venture, or professional education of the family. Having the limitation, future studies may look into the variances in respondents’ demographic characteristics as the Malaysian population is rich in diversity. Secondly, the study had examined a factor that has not been widely discussed; ORC, which appeared insignificant for ENIN. Besides, as the study had dismissed entrepreneurial behaviour, future endeavours may assess the entrepreneurial behaviour to determine intention’s impact on entrepreneurial behaviour. Lastly, the current work assumed an empirical quantitative research design associated with the specific limitation. We suggest that future research must be designed to expose and explore attitude formation fully and opportunity recognition instigating the ENIN qualitatively.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

KW, VN’d, UM and QY: methodology, data collection, data analysis, and writing—original draft. AA, AS and NH: conceptualisation, methodology, and writing—review and revision. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.