Abstract:
Fear of failure is viewed as a barrier to entrepreneurship globally as it impacts
career decisions. It originates from performance apprehension, with individuals
more concerned about the consequences of failure than failure itself. University
students are an essential group of prospective entrepreneurs who demonstrate
the efficacy of choosing entrepreneurship over conventional career prospects.
This study aims to explore the sources of fear among university students towards
entrepreneurship as an initial career choice and investigate how entrepreneurial
capital mediates the fear of failure. The research is quantitative, following a
deductive approach using primary data for the analysis. The research was
conducted on 711 graduate and undergraduate students of different fields from
20 universities in Bangladesh using multi-stage sampling. A structured
questionnaire was developed using a 5-point Likert scale to gather the data and
to assess and analyse the responses. A confirmatory factor analysis and
structural equation modelling using the statistical tool AMOS 23 version were
performed for the research, thus ensuring the reliability and validity of the
research. The findings show entrepreneurial capital reduces fear. Among the
three sources of fear, societal pressure is not considered a source of fear for
entrepreneurship after intervening with entrepreneurial capital. The mitigation
of financial uncertainty and low self-competency by entrepreneurial capital was
observed, but social pressure showed no effect, indicating it does not influence
the choice of entrepreneurship as a career. This research would aid students in
developing countries to view entrepreneurship as a career. The faculty,
government, and policymakers should develop policies and resources to enhance
students' entrepreneurial mindsets.
