COVID-19 pandemic and entrepreneurial intention among university students: a contextualisation of the Igbo Traditional Business School

Purpose This study investigates and contextualises the Igbo Traditional Business School (ITBS) and planned entrepreneurial behaviour across Nigerian higher education sector in a period of crisis occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a quantitative survey of undergraduate students on ITBS, and the data were analysed using the SmartPLS structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings The study finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has had negative influence on attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control (PBC) and entrepreneurial intention (EI) of students, but these negative influences are mediated/moderated by the ITBS. Practical implications The study presents some practical and managerial implications that will be of interest to ITBS administrators, the government and other stakeholder groups. Originality/value While research has increasingly explored the role of the ITBS in promoting entrepreneurial activities, not much has been linked to coping mechanisms for students in crisis times. The study unearths the positive influence of the pandemic on entrepreneurship and how the ITBS mediates the negative aspects of COVID-19 on entrepreneurial vocation.