The Impact of Creativity and Risk Appetite on Entrepreneurial Intention of Economics Students in Hanoi, Vietnam

Abstract

Entrepreneurs are expected to be creative. Entrepreneurial creativity is defined as “the generation and implementation of novel and useful ideas for products, services and processes, as well as business models to establish a profit-making new venture. This study examines the impact of creative competence and risk appetite on entrepreneurial intention among Economics students in Hanoi. Additionally, it investigates the mediating role of students' creative competence in the relationship between risk appetite and entrepreneurial intention. Primary data were collected from 346 valid survey questionnaires. The research employs the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) framework, with data processed using SPSS 24 and AMOS 24. The questionnaire was developed using the back-translation technique to ensure semantic accuracy and consistency of measurement scales compared to their sources. Results indicate that both creative competence and risk appetite positively influence the entrepreneurial intention of Economics students in Hanoi. Managerial implications and future research directions are also discussed. The study reveals a positive correlation between creativity and entrepreneurial intention, suggesting that individuals with higher creative potential are more confident in generating ideas and implementing business plans. However, the current educational environment in many universities remains overly theoretical, lacks practical orientation, and offers limited space for experimentation—conditions that do not sufficiently encourage student creativity. Future research should include tests for these moderating effects to enrich both theoretical insights and practical implications related to entrepreneurial behavior among university students.