College Students Perceive The Impact Of Entrepreneurial Leadership On Creativity

Abstract

This study delves into the impact of perceived entrepreneurial leadership on the creativity of college students in prominent educational cities of Northwest China, such as Xi’an, Lanzhou, and Urumqi. The research employed a structured questionnaire to gather data, engaging 484 management students from these cities. Structural equation modelling via AMOS 20.0 was used for the study. The study’s findings underscore the significant mediating roles of intrinsic motivation and emotional intelligence in the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and student creativity. It was found that entrepreneurial leadership is a crucial predictor of student creativity, with intrinsic motivation and emotional intelligence playing vital roles in this dynamic. The study reveals that the presence of high levels of intrinsic motivation and emotional intelligence among students considerably strengthens the impact of entrepreneurial leadership on creativity. Through mediation analysis using the bootstrapping method, it was demonstrated that the association between entrepreneurial leadership and student creativity is fully mediated by intrinsic motivation and partially by emotional intelligence. These findings offer new perspectives on the interaction between leadership and creativity in the context of higher education, highlighting the distinct socio-cultural aspects of Northwest China’s academic environment.