Survey reveals peer pressure influences entrepreneurial intentions in students, highlighting roles of self-efficacy and education.
Peer pressure, conceptualized as a "double-edged sword" in prior literature, exerts a notable impact on college students' decision-making processes. Faced with the choice between joining the competitive "rat race" versus adopting a more passive "lie flat" stance, college students often struggle to reach a resolution. Guided by conservation of resources (COR) theory and social cognitive theory, this study tests a theoretical model using questionnaire data from 1024 Chinese college students. The results reveal a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between peer pressure and college students' entrepreneurial intentions. Self-efficacy significantly mediates the relationship between peer pressure and college students' entrepreneurial intentions. Additionally, innovation and entrepreneurship education is found to exert a significant moderating effect on the above-mentioned relationship. The findings provide theoretical implications for peer pressure research, and offer valuable insights for educational institutions to refine stress management practices and enhance the efficacy of innovation and entrepreneurship education programmes.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Zhang et al. (2025) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: