Emotional competencies and entrepreneurship: modeling universities

Abstract

The goal of this study is to analyze the effect of emotional competencies on the entrepreneurial training received by students at a private university ecosystem using a modified version of Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior. The results are compared with another university ecosystem located in the same geographical area. This research offers practical implications for improving entrepreneurship programs that contribute to the promotion of the entrepreneurial and self-employment capacity of university students. In order to accomplish this, we follow a theoretical model approach. After the scales are validated, two samples are selected to test the hypotheses. A first sample is a group of 1690 new university students at three universities in Guadalajara, Mexico, and a group of 217 students, who have been within a university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem for three years. Structural equation modeling is used to find the results of this research. Emotional Competences show differences in the model of the entrepreneurial intention of the private university and the public university, showing some paths to follow the universities. The permanence in a university gives some paths to follow for a private university with similare characteristics.