Entrepreneurial growth mindset boosts entrepreneurial intention via the serial path of cognitive flexibility and entrepreneurial alertness

Yaolishun Xing, M Koorosh Li, Xiaoming Jiang, Ying Qiao, Xinming Yu

This study investigates the association between entrepreneurial growth mindset and Chinese university students' entrepreneurial intention and its underlying psychological mechanisms, with a particular focus on the serial mediating roles of cognitive flexibility and entrepreneurial alertness. Using convenience sampling, 736 junior and senior students from three Chinese universities were recruited. Participants completed validated scales measuring entrepreneurial growth mindset, cognitive flexibility, entrepreneurial alertness, and entrepreneurial intention. Structural equation modeling was employed to test a serial mediation model, and indirect effects were evaluated using the bootstrap method with 5,000 resamples. Entrepreneurial growth mindset, cognitive flexibility, entrepreneurial alertness, and entrepreneurial intention were all positively and significantly correlated. Entrepreneurial growth mindset significantly and positively predicted entrepreneurial intention. Cognitive flexibility partially mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial growth mindset and entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, cognitive flexibility and entrepreneurial alertness jointly constituted a significant serial mediation pathway. These findings are consistent with a multilevel cognitive mechanism through which entrepreneurial growth mindset influences entrepreneurial intention via cognitive flexibility and entrepreneurial alertness. The results offer a preliminary theoretical framework and practical roadmap for entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions.