Interested to start a venture but worried about the future: Investigating the role of resilience in fear of career uncertainty and entrepreneurial intention

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is inherently characterised by immense uncertainty. Thereby, fear becomes an obvious experience and poses a significant threat to entrepreneurial intention (EI). This study aimed to extend this understanding by exploring how specific fears, such as fear of career uncertainty and fear of perceived inability, affect EI and how resilience impacts these fears and their interaction with EI. This study tested a mediation model on a sample of young university students in Bangladesh (n = 553), using a two-phase survey (before and after the COVID-19 pandemic) and applying the partial least squares - structural equation model in Smart PLS 4. The findings indicated that fear of career uncertainty had a significant negative influence, and resilience had a significant positive influence on EI. Additionally, resilience reduced both fear of career uncertainty and fear of perceived inability and, transformed fear of career uncertainty into a positive driver toward EI. In contrast to the extant evidence that suggested fear as a threat to EI, this study indicated that not all forms of fear are detrimental to EI and that experience of fear can be mitigated. This study suggested that resilient students can overcome fear concerning their careers and focus on establishing new ventures.