Nurturing future entrepreneurs: the role of subjective happiness and entrepreneurial orientation in private higher education talents

Abstract

This study examines the psychological and behavioral drivers of student entrepreneurship by analyzing the influence of subjective happiness and individual-level Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) on entrepreneurial initiative. Shifting the paradigm from reactive, hardship-driven entrepreneurship to proactive talent development, this research integrates positive psychology via Fredrickson’s Broaden-and-Build theory into the framework of Human Resource Management (HRM) and graduate employability. Using a quantitative, causal-explanatory design, self-reported data were collected via a purposive sampling approach from 145 private university students enrolled in entrepreneurship curricula in Jakarta, Indonesia. The structural model was evaluated using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Procedural remedies, including Harman’s single-factor test, were deployed to rule out common method bias. The empirical findings reveal that both subjective happiness (β = 0.095, p = 0.045) and entrepreneurial orientation (β = 0.089, p = 0.030) exert positive and statistically significant direct effects on students’ entrepreneurial initiative, collectively explaining 10.8% of the behavioral variance. Despite structural limitations inherent in binary operationalization, the results demonstrate that psychological well-being and a strategic attitudinal posture function as vital antecedents that broaden cognitive flexibility and motivate self-starting, proactive actions. Practically, these insights provide higher education administrators and corporate HRM practitioners with a blueprint to foster workplace and academic happiness as a strategic lever for nurturing future intrapreneurs and driving corporate innovation capital.