Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurial Intention: Moderating Role of Gender

The main purpose of this survey was to study of relationship between entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial self-efficacy of agricultural students and test of moderating effect of gender in this relationship. The statistical population of the study contained all M. Sc. students in Agriculture Faculty of Zanjan University (N=469). A sample size of 285 was selected using a stratified random sampling method (n=285). The standard questionnaires were used to collect the data. A panel of experts confirmed the content validity of the questionnaires. A pilot study was conducted to establish the reliability of the instrument. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the main scales of questionnaire were at appropriate level (ranged from 0. 792 to 0. 887). The data were analyzed using SPSSwin20 and AMOS20 softwares. The results showed that entrepreneurial self-efficacy had a positive and significant effect on dependent variable of entrepreneurial intention explaining about 40 percent of its variances. Also، the results indicated that gender had a moderating effect on the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial self-efficacy; so that the relationship was non-significant for female students، whereas it was positive and significant for male students.