Abstract
Students’ entrepreneurial readiness is critical for investors and stakeholders when developing a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem, particularly in developing countries like the Philippines. This study examined the predictive relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and business readiness, with entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurial intentions mediating factors among Filipino college students. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design and partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), data were analyzed from a validated questionnaire administered to 237 purposively selected college students in Northern Cebu, Philippines. Findings revealed that entrepreneurial self-efficacy significantly predicted both business readiness (β = 0.557, p = 0.000) and entrepreneurial mindset (β = 0.740, p = 0.000). The entrepreneurial mindset significantly influenced entrepreneurial intentions (β=0.582, p=0.000), affecting business readiness (β=0.216, p=0.023). Interestingly, the relationship between self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions (β=0.069, p=0.607) was not direct but channeled through entrepreneurial mindset, which was found to be statistically insignificant in this mediation path. Of the four proposed mediation pathways, only the indirect path from entrepreneurial self-efficacy to entrepreneurial intentions via entrepreneurial mindset was statistically supported (β=0.431, p=0.000). The remaining paths did not yield significant effects. These results highlight the importance of cultivating a strong entrepreneurial mindset to bridge self-efficacy and the intention to engage in business-related behavior. Based on these insights, the study recommends that entrepreneurship education integrate activities that build self-efficacy and mindset, such as experiential learning, mentoring, and real-world problem-solving tasks. Institutions are also encouraged to provide support mechanisms, such as startup simulations and capstone projects, to bridge the gap between entrepreneurial intentions and readiness effectively. These findings will be valuable to educators and policymakers in enhancing Filipino college students' entrepreneurial capabilities.
