Bridging the Intention-Action Gap: An Integrated Model for Entrepreneurship Education in Resource-Constrained Contexts

Purpose: This paper examines the determinants of entrepreneurial intention (EI) among Ethiopian university students, a context marked by high youth unemployment and a persistent theory-practice gap in entrepreneurship education (EE). It proposes a new conceptual framework to reconcile EI with its subsequent realization.Design/Methodology/Approach: An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was used. Qualitative in-depth interviews (N=10) explored students' experiences with EE, informing a quantitative questionnaire administered to 332 university students. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, multiple regression, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).Findings: Entrepreneurial passion (β = .423, p < .001) and self-efficacy (β = .179, p < .01) emerged as the strongest predictors of EI. Formal EE had a positive effect (β = .110, p < .05), while entrepreneurial role models showed no significant effect—explained qualitatively by an "ambivalence between hope and constraint" rooted in structural, particularly financial, barriers.Originality/Value: The paper offers two contributions: empirical evidence that psychological capital outweighs formal education in shaping EI in a developing-economy context, and the "Investment-Uncertainty-Profit (IUP) Model," a TPB/SCT-based framework addressing the intention-action gap through resourcefulness, adaptive resilience, and a broadened definition of entrepreneurial success.