Entrepreneurial intention among student-founded startups: a comparative study of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines

This study examines the entrepreneurial intentions among student-founded startups in three ASEAN countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Despite well-established government policies and university initiatives to promote entrepreneurship, the understanding of how entrepreneurial intention is shaped among student founders remains limited. Adopting a qualitative exploratory design, this study investigates the multi-dimensional factors influencing students who have engaged in venture creation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 student startup founders to explore key determinants shaping their entrepreneurial intention. The findings indicate that aptitude and personal desire are the most consistently reported factors across all three countries, highlighting the importance of intrinsic motivations such as self-efficacy and autonomy. However, notable cross-country differences emerge. Malaysian founders more frequently emphasized financial and governmental support, whereas founders in Indonesia and the Philippines highlighted personal traits such as creativity, resilience, and adaptability. University support and entrepreneurial ecosystems also played varying roles across contexts. Overall, the study provides comparative, context-specific insights into student entrepreneurship within ASEAN and contributes to the literature by offering qualitative evidence on how entrepreneurial intention is shaped across different institutional environments. The findings also offer practical implications for universities and policymakers in designing more effective entrepreneurship support systems.