Author(s): Obinna Ike, Anselem, Ugwueze, Leonard Ugwu,
This study investigated the moderating role of family support in the relationship between innovativeness and entrepreneurial alertness on entrepreneurial intentions in a sample of undergraduate students in south-eastern Nigeria. The participants were 1385 final-year undergraduate students (age range 20-37 years; M=24.54 years; SD=3.17). The participants completed the self-report measures of the Individual Innovativeness Scale, Entrepreneurial Alertness Scale, Family Support Scale, and Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire. This study adopted a cross-sectional design. The process Macro version 3.1 was employed for hypothesis testing. The findings revealed that innovativeness, entrepreneurial alertness, and family support are positively associated with entrepreneurial intention. Family support moderated the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial intention among undergraduate students, but did not affect innovativeness. Specifically, even though entrepreneurial alertness was significantly associated with an increment in entrepreneurial intention, this positive association was strongest among undergraduate students with high family support compared to those with low and moderate family support. Our findings suggest that educators and policymakers need to consider the role of exogenous factors (e.g., family support) when seeking to promote entrepreneurial actions of college students through policies or educational programs and to rethink the current models of entrepreneurial education that are prevalent in our educational system to imbibe inclusiveness of both exogenous and endogenous factors that influence entrepreneurship.