Educating with the dark, down and destructive sides of entrepreneurship: Impact to entrepreneurial intention

Abstract

The extensive literature on the contributions of entrepreneurship has fostered positivity bias, which must be critically addressed in education, as there are also unsuccessful entrepreneurial endeavors that have pernicious impacts on the psychological (dark), capital (down), and societal (destructive) domains. This study aims to analyze the impact of entrepreneurship education (EE) on entrepreneurial intention (EI) through the knowledge of the dark (DR), down (DW), and destructive (DS) sides of entrepreneurship and strategies (STR). It employs a convergent mixed method approach that used survey research involving 122 respondents selected using purposive sampling, which was analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) through Smart PLS 4, and interviews with 10 informants probed using thematic analysis. The quantitative analysis revealed that better entrepreneurship education is associated with higher knowledge of the Triple Ds and the strategies to combat them; that only DS and STR are significant predictors of EI as well as partial mediators; and that EE directly impacts EI. The rival explanations conducted for an objective orientation showed that EE significantly influenced DR, DW, DS, STR, and EI; Only DW was insignificant in predicting EI. DR, DS; and STR significantly mediate the relationship between EE and EI. Implications from the results emphasize the importance of incorporating the Triple Ds in the entrepreneurship curriculum. Sample cases investigating the dark and destructive side of entrepreneurship as well as measures to mitigate negative consequences, will not only correct positivity bias but also intensify entrepreneurial intentions.