Entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions: Do entrepreneurial self-efficacy, alertness and opportunity recognition matter?

While the existing literature generally suggests a positive relationship between entrepreneurship education (EE) and entrepreneurial intentions (EIs), the underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully understood. Against this background and drawing on social cognitive career theory, this study explores the serial mediating effect of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, alertness, and opportunity recognition on the relationship between EE and EIs. The study adopted a one-group pretest-posttest (quasi-experimental) research design. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data from 254 business management students in three polytechnics in Nigeria. The study performed a repeated-measures t-test and a serial mediation analysis. The findings show that EE significantly improves students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy, alertness, opportunity recognition, and intentions. The results also indicate that entrepreneurial self-efficacy, alertness, and opportunity recognition positively impact EIs. Further analysis reveals that entrepreneurial self-efficacy, alertness, and opportunity recognition individually and serially mediate the relationship between EE and EIs. The study concludes that entrepreneurial self-efficacy, alertness, and opportunity recognition are mechanisms through which EE positively affects EIs. The study contributes to a better understanding of the role of EE in the development of EIs, and its findings have implications for policymakers and higher education institutions. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd