Mediation Role of Self-Esteem in Analysis of the Factors Influencing Entrepreneurial Capabilities of Agricultural Students (Case Study: University of Zanjan)

Nowadays, according to the economic and social conditions of the country, fostering creative ideas and entrepreneurs which can coordinate and consistent themselves with the modern world, is necessary. This descriptive correlational study conducted with aimed to investigate factors influencing entrepreneurial capabilities and emphasis on the mediation role of self-esteem among agricultural students. The population of the study was including 390 senior bachelor agricultural students of Zanjan University in the academic year 1392-1393. According to the table of Krejcie and Morgan, 200 of them were selected through proportional stratified sampling (by gender). A questionnaire was used to collect data. Validity of the questionnaire was approved based on the opinions of faculty members at Zanjan University. A pilot study was conducted to determine the reliability of the instrument, which the Cronbach's alpha values for the main scales of the questionnaire, was at the appropriate level (in the range of 0.80 to 0.89). The collected data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling Multivariate technique. The results showed that there is a significant positive relationship between academic action of students, environmental factors, effort attribution, and attitudes towards self with their entrepreneurial capabilities. Also, the results of testing the mediation effects of self-esteem according to "Bootstrap" method indicated that the total indirect effect of the academic action, effort attribution, and attitudes towards self with their entrepreneurial capabilities was significant.