Investigating the Effect of Entrepreneurial Passion Mediated by the Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy on the Entrepreneurial Intention of Women Entrepreneurs: The Mediating Role of Cinderella Syndrome

The current research aimed to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial passion on entrepreneurial intention of women entrepreneurs with the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy perception and the moderating role of Cinderella syndrome. This research is applied in terms of purpose, quantitative in terms of approach, and descriptive-correlational in terms of type. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was checked and confirmed by using the opinion of experts, and the reliability of the questionnaire by calculating the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The statistical population included all female students of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman (N= 7438). The size of the statistical sample was estimated to be 368 people based on the table of Krejcie and Morgan, and the samples were selected using the simple random sampling method.  The data were analyzed in two parts, i.e., descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, and through SPSS23</sub> and Smart PLS3</sub> software. The research results confirmed the positive and significant effect of entrepreneurial passion on the perception of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and the positive and significant effect of entrepreneurial passion and the perception of entrepreneurial self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intention. Also, the results confirmed the moderating role of Cinderella syndrome in the effect of entrepreneurial passion on entrepreneurial self-efficacy. However, the moderating role of Cinderella syndrome was rejected in the effect of entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intention. This research brings practical recommendations for policy makers and planners in the field of research.