Abstract
This study seeks to examine the entrepreneurial intentions and crowdfunding practices within the context of university business and management students in Lahore, Pakistan. The investigation employs the theory of planned behavior and perceived behavior control as conceptual frameworks to analyze entrepreneurial intentions. The research assesses the influence of entrepreneurial intentions on crowdfunding intentions, taking into consideration facilitating circumstances and perceived trust in crowdfunding platforms. A sample of 244 university management students in Lahore, Pakistan, was surveyed, and the collected data were subjected to analysis using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) through Smart PLS 4. Notably, the study reveals that entrepreneurial intention serves as a complete mediator in the relationship between social influence, perceived trust, and crowdfunding intention. Additionally, entrepreneurial intention functions as a partial mediator in connecting perceived behavioral control with crowdfunding intention. This research contributes novelty to the existing literature by being the inaugural exploration into the interrelation between entrepreneurial intentions and the utilization of crowdfunding among university business students in Pakistan. The unique focus on this specific demographic enhances the significance of the study in understanding the dynamics of entrepreneurial behavior and crowdfunding adoption within an educational setting.